Franklin Electronic Publishers, has launched MultiMediaCard (MMC) editions of its top medical references. These MMCs are designed to plug into SD/MMC expansion slots found on handheld devices, including Palm, Treo, Handera, iPAQ, Casio, and Toshiba.

According to the company, everything the user needs is included on the MMC, so there's no need to download and sync the content. "Franklin publishes PDA editions of the core group of clinical references used by physicians, physician's assistants, nurse practitioners, residents and interns, and other health care professionals," according to Christine Martire, Franklin's eHealth Business Development Director. "With these new Medical MMCs, the medical community now has a quick and hassle-free way of gaining access to this important content on their handheld device."

The current collection of Medical MMCs includes the following top medical references:

     -- 2002 Pocket PDR from Thomson Medical Economics.
     -- AHFS Drug Information 2002, from the American Society of Health-System
        Pharmacists
     -- The Merck Manual, Centennial Edition, from Merck & Co., Inc.
     -- Harrison's Manual of Medicine; and the Emergency Medicine Library
        (comprising two references: Emergency Medicine Companion Handbook and
        Pediatric Emergency Medicine Companion Handbook), from McGraw-Hill
        Education.
     -- The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics, Griffith's 5-Minute
        Clinical Consult 2002, and Stedman's Medical Dictionary, from
        Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

The Medical MMCs are available from Franklin's websiteand from Franklin reselling and wholesaling partners, including Palm's Online Store, Amazon, and D&H Distributing.