Laptops vs. handhelds: The hardware debate
Know the pros and cons of each before you buy
(Editor’s note: In the first part of a two-part series, Home Infusion Therapy Management will weigh the advantages and disadvantages of laptops and handheld computers. Next month, the experts share their tips on what features your computer should have and which are unnecessary for a home infusion agency.)
While technology can help your agency become more efficient and profitable, making the wrong choice can lead to headaches and frustration, in addition to spending time trying to handle technological glitches. When it comes to software, most of your decision will rely on your own and your staff’s preferences. While that holds true for hardware as well, experts say there are distinct advantages and disadvantages for both laptops and handhelds. They are:
1. Cost.
Any technology purchase, whether mobilizing a handful of staff nurses or several dozen, often comes down to dollars. When trying to work such a potentially sizable purchase into your budget, cost is the first question many agencies ask when looking to computerize. If funds are tight, handhelds may be the best choice.
"Handhelds are definitely cheaper," says Judith Hornback, management information systems support analyst for the home health department of Ancilla Systems in South Bend, IN, a health care corporation that owns seven hospitals in Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. Hornback says a laptop will cost you about $2,500, while handhelds run less than half that at about $1,000 each. You’ll also save when shopping for software, which tends to be more expensive for laptops, she says.
2. Capabilities.
Make no mistake you will sacrifice capabilities for the price difference. But some agencies don’t mind the reduced capabilities of handhelds compared to laptops.
"Handhelds are limited, but what do you want to do?" asks Hornback. "Are you really going to give your nurses access to the Internet, word processors, or office programs? Is that really their job? Why would you give them more than they need?"
Hornback recalls a conversation with a peer from another agency. This individual was going to purchase laptops for her staff and had found a model for less than $2,000 each. Hornback tried to show the individual why handhelds were the better choice for that agency.
"We’ll pay $1,800 because we’re not going to give them everything. We’re only going to run home health software on the laptop," the colleague told Hornback, to which Hornback asked, "Then why go with laptops?"
"On laptops you can get patients’ entire files, but what one nurse needs a patient’s entire file?" asks Hornback.
However, being able to expand the capability is a plus for some.
"Laptops are expandable you can always put a word processor on there," notes Loronda Schuler, RN, BA, PHN, director of home care, CommuniCare in Marshall, MN. "It isn’t limited to the [home health] software like the handhelds are."
Will your staff be required to use a word processor? Is access to the Internet important? If so, you’ll probably want to splurge for the laptops. If your staff simply will be recording patient data, handhelds may fill your needs and your agency’s pockets as well.
3. Ease of use.
Which are easier to use, handhelds or laptops? The answer depends on personal preference. Handhelds typically require users to follow prompts rather than to enter data directly into the computer, such as with laptops. But entering data into each type of computer has its pros and cons.
"A handheld is like typing on a telephone," says Schuler. "The letters are all over the place."
In addition, following prompts doesn’t allow for customization from one patient to the next.
"You don’t have to type many notes on handhelds, but there are times those programs don’t lend themselves to painting the complete picture of the patient," says Schuler."
There’s a trade off
The tradeoff, says Hornback, is that handhelds require a lower level of computer expertise.
"I’m in favor of the handhelds simply because they are more idiot-proof," she says. "You don’t have to have any computer knowledge, and you don’t have to do a lot of typing."
With laptops, having to input data directly rather than simply to follow prompts can often prove cumbersome and result in creating more work for your staff, says Hornback. Nurses often take notes in the field and transcribe those notes onto the proper charts at home in the evening. In some cases, your staff may end up doing the same thing with laptops.
"A handheld is less conspicuous than a laptop," says Hornback. "With a handheld you can use it and still be talking to a client. But you have to give a laptop your full attention."
One thing many agencies overlook is the ease of transportation.
"If a caregiver has to carry all kinds of stuff, a laptop surely won’t lighten the load," says Patti Bedard, marketing and communications supervisor for Healthcare Automation, a Providence, RI, software vendor. "The handhelds are much easier to carry around."
4. Compatibility.
Hornback has this word for the wise coordinate your purchase of hardware and software. If a certain software package has caught your eye, know whether it runs on a laptop or handheld. But don’t get caught in a quest for the Holy Grail.
"There is no perfect system," she says. "It depends on what your organization’s goals and objectives are."
For example, Ancilla Systems went with handhelds because of PtCT’s compatibility with it’s existing hardware system. Not only did the two integrate very well, but nurses had already been using a similar – if not identical – program.
That’s the same reason Schuler’s agency went with laptops.
"We already owned software written for laptops, so if we bought handhelds, we would have had to buy the software."
Most importantly, don’t try to make decisions on your own when deciding compatibility. Enlist the help of those around you.
"Get your computer support or data processing person involved," says Mark Mattson, network analyst for Ryan Computer Consulting/Martech Computers, a firm in Marshall, MN, that deals predominately with the health care field.
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