I've seen the future of incisive, informative medical education and its name is eDerm/PDA. This is must have software for any practicing clinician, no matter what their experience level. If you know dermatologic lesions, then this is a good refresher course for you with an added bonus for your PDA. If you're a medical student, this is how to become skilled at dermatologic diagnosis and triage. This program has something for everybody.

The folks at West Portal Software call their program "Managing Suspicious Skin Lesions - PDA Software and Web Tutorial for Dermatology" but I think that is not saying enough. It's a teaching/learning tool which you can do in your spare time in the comfort of your own home or office. You access the web site, log on with your password, perform as many of the learning modules as you like, and resume any time you like. The course keeps track of your progress and scores your quizzes for you, showing you your weaknesses any time you'd like to review.

The content of the online course is first rate. Full of color pictures and case studies, it is carefully thought out and leads to a valuable learning experience. It becomes a challenge to better yourself throughout. It is a true multi-media experience.

As if that weren't enough, there's the PDA aspect. Occupying just 59 K of memory on your PDA, the eDerm/PDA tool is a valuable addition to your portable armamentarium. It places a decision tree guide to lesions right in your handheld computer. You have a patient with a lesion and input parameters one at a time as it queries you about your patient and their lesion. In the end, it guides you to a most complete differential diagnosis of the lesion and the steps you should take with the patient at that point. The PDA tool is, by itself, worth the price of admission and worthy of your attention.

The entire web site is thorough and easy to navigate. There's a handy demo of the PDA tool which walks you through its use step by step. When it comes to derm lesions, whether you think you know it all or whether you think you've forgotten it all, this site deserves to be checked out. My only question for the West Postal folks is, when will you apply this type of beautifully integrated learning to other medical specialties? I can't wait.

I thought so much of this program, that I'm having my Physician Assistant students field test it during their clinical assignments. Stay tuned for their feedback. I expect it to be informative.