Physicians Office Resource Volume 8 Issue 04 | Page 9

MEDICAL APPS: POCKET TO PRACTICE Dylan J. Chadwick Physicians Office Resource Staff Writer V programs to help in monitoring treatment schedules and regimen. Epocrates, Medscape and UptoDate all began as desktop computer programs in the 1990's, but have since become the three most downloaded medical apps. The reality is that apps are becoming increasingly more integrated into the daily healthcare model, transitioning from a simple access point of information to actually doing medicine in various capacities. Diagnostics, telemetry and even therapy have moved into the forefront as physicians and patients alike can use smartphone and mobile devices to perform tasks as varied as recording vital signs and levels to performing ultrasounds via Bluetooth technology. ast connectedness and mobile access to infinite archives of information may be calling cards of the smartphone, but as microchip and touch-screen technology continues improving and mobile app functionality becomes increasingly more powerful, they're becoming viable replacements to full-on desktop computers in many industries. A tool with quick internal computing speed, a connection to the internet and workspecific software all contained within a single pocket-sized device seems an obvious wondertool for physicians though. It allows them to quickly access cloud-based patient files, to reference an archive of drug interactions and symptom data and even transfer specific data to other mobile users within the command chain, streamlining workflow throughout. These, and an endless host of other functions in and out of the healthcare industry, are made possible by apps. You already know this of course, as the data suggests it. A physician's news article (Five Great Medical Apps for Doctors; Surgeons) reports that 9 of every 10 physicians are actively utilizing smartphones in their daily practice. The app market's full to bursting too, with roughly 44,000 medical apps alone, currently available for download. As it stands, drug reference ranks as the most popular medical app function, according to a Modern Healthcare report. However, medical apps also stake their claim in their ability to communicate health information between physicians or directly to patients, to facilitate reference to giant tomes of health information or even to create reminder Besides the obvious... Besides all the gadgety zips and whistles though, how are mobile apps really making changes in the day to day happenings of the working physician's day? For one, they're streamlining workflow and lending greater remote capabilities to these physicians. Apps can keep a working physician in direct communication with a laboratory, an assistant, another physician and even a patient without them even having to leave the office, make a call or write an email. Think about the technical benefits there. In a KevinMD article (Medical Apps: We're Approaching the Tipping Point) Joe Flower describes an app that syncs with a Bluetooth-connected pill. The pill sends a signal to the application when it has... This article is Continued at: articles.PhysiciansOfficeResource.com 9 www.PhysiciansOfficeResource.com