November 22, 2011 6:00 AM

I began to write this blog post using my newly acquired iPhone 4S, but once I had access to my laptop, I reverted to a more comfortable (and familiar) form factor. Until recently, I was a strong advocate for the Blackberry, which I have used for the last seven years; however, the recent network outage did impact me and resulted in missed calls and communications that needed to be acted upon earlier than received.

Until that time, I tolerated some of the Blackberry's limitations, including the small screen that had become less useful in a largely browser-based world. However, after the outage, I made a conscious effort to review my options and decided to switch to either the Android or iPhone platform. What made me choose the iPhone? As an avid Mac user with a household of kids who are Mac converts, an iPhone was the only logical option. My transformation is now complete. I use a Mac, an iPad, and an iPhone. I imagine that my story is not much different to many others. I did not begin down a pathway thinking that I had to convert to a Mac, but I became part of the Apple family. I was just kind of drawn in. My life became a little easier and my productivity improved.

The objective of this post is not to wax poetic about the benefits of the Mac platform, but to talk about mobile applications (or Apps). Approximately 11 years ago, I developed an Internet strategy for a national communications organization and suggested at that time that the fixed web would become an aggregator for content and services. But with the move towards more and more sophisticated mobile applications, the mobile phone would be the area in which to focus 70% of the strategy. In 2000, many of the technologies we now take for granted were not yet available, AOL was still the dominant Internet presence, and mobile phones were used primarily for voice communications. Blackberry had released early versions of their mobile devices; however, while they made email communication easier, the mobile web had not yet begun to develop.

Whether one uses an iPhone or an Android device (or even a BlackBerry), there are now thousands of mobile healthcare applications, many of which are available for free. Yesterday, while searching the App Store on my iPhone, I noticed under the “What’s Hot” section that there was a dedicated area called Apps for Healthcare Professionals. Organized under Reference, Education, EMR & Patient Monitoring, Imaging and Point of Care, I was able to find a number that were relevant to me and quickly had a growing library of free and useful mobile applications including the new IOS5 version of ePocrates and Medscape. In 1997, I launched a website called WorkSmartDoc.com and my Internal Medicine colleague, Dr. Steve Wong, was the first ever to write a review on ePocrates, which at that time was only available for the Palm. (Do you remember them?) ePocrates has grown significantly since that time and offers an incredible number of tools and functions, including an EMR application in the U.S. It is an extremely useful tool (but not unique — there are many others that perform many of the same functions with slightly different nuances), and ePocrates is a leader in this field. I also downloaded the NEJM App as well as an App which is more consumer focused for cancer care developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

A particularly interesting section within the Apps for Healthcare section is called “Personal Care Apps” developed by pharma (Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis), sports companies (Nike), Non-profits (National Breast Cancer Foundation), Pharmacies (Shoppers Drug Mart), and more. While I do not see many physicians using these types of applications on their own devices, by grouping them together with other more provider-focused Apps, there is a credibility by association of being a member of an eclectic collection.

The “App World” is becoming richer and is providing more choice to clinicians and patients. A Nov 8, 2011 article in the National Post titled “Paging Dr. Smartphone: How medical apps are changing diagnoses and treatments” highlights the benefits and use of Apps for Type II Diabetes and individuals who have problems with verbal communication. I see a future not far off in which physicians will prescribe mobile Apps for a variety of conditions in addition to more traditional pharmacological treatments and lifestyle advice.

Originally posted on Canadian EMR

Blogger Profile: Alan Brookstone
CanadianEMR is an authoritative and widely recognized national resource for physicians, medical office staff, healthcare planners, government organizations, and vendors of EMR systems.

Posted by Sue Ansell at November 22, 2011 6:00 AM

Categories: eHealth

Comments

Olivia House email - http://www.vacationrentalnet.com/apartment-rentals.asp

I was a bit skeptic at first about health apps but when I heard about the one for Type II Diabetes, I realized those apps can be very useful. There is nothing wrong if physicians don't use them if they are perfectly acceptable for patients.

Jeremy Vacation email - http://www.vacationhomes.net/vacation-rentals/oregon/a16607.htm

I didn't suspect that there is any link betweeen mobile apps and health. But undoubtedly mobile technologies are having influence over human heald and unfortuantelly in negative direction.

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