Purpose of App Review
- How well does this medical app teach clinicians to manage difficult emergent airways?
- How useful is the clinical information provided as a bedside reference for managing difficult airways?
Introduction
We Emergency Physicians fancy ourselves the Macgyvers of medicine, able to creatively solve almost any emergent problem that we come across. Still, there are a few situations which most of us would probably admit we still find a bit terrifying, because no matter how hard we prepare for them, things could still go very, very wrong. (read more)
Purpose of App Review
- How well does this medical app serve as a mobile resource for physicians and residents?
Introduction
Theophrastus Phillipus Auroleus Bombastus von Hohenheim, perhaps better know as Paracelsus is considered “the father” of toxicology.
He is credited with the classic toxicology maxim, “Alle Dinge sind Gift und nichts ist ohne Gift; allein die Dosis macht, dass ein Ding kein Gift ist.” which translates as, “All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison.”
This is often condensed to: “The dose makes the poison” or in Latin “Sola dosis facit venenum”.
The Poisoning and Drug Overdose app promises to be an instant-answer guide to turn to for on-the-spot treatment of poisoning and drug overdose. It also promises to deliver critical information on effective diagnosis and treatment of drug-related emergencies and chemical exposures.
(read more)
Purpose of App Review
To find out if this app can provide valuable information to physicians about Cardiology.
Introduction
As a physician in today’s world there is a need to be constantly updating our medical knowledge.
The sources of information available are many and if we simply stick to just one source, we risk missing out on important news.
Cardiology at Hand is an Android app that gathers information from several Cardiology journals like the Journal of Interventional Cardiology and the Journal of Clinical Hypertension and provides access to that information all in one place. (read more)
Purpose of App Review
- to review the user interface and images of the mammo app
- to review the usability and application of the mammo app
Introduction
Breast cancer is unfortunately very common.
Fortunately, there are ways to screen for asymptomatic cancers and established guidelines for working up suspicious findings on physical exam.
You do not have to be a breast surgeon or a radiologist to know about breast disease, mammograms, and appropriate workups for concerning breast symptoms and exam findings.
The Mammography Flashcards app aims to help your study about breast disease and imaging in a more in-depth manner.
(read more)
Purpose of App Review
- Is Atrial Fibrillation Scoring an app physicians can take advantage?
- Is it a worthy addition to your smartphone repertoire?
Introduction
The CHADS2 score is a clinical prediction rule for estimating the risk of stroke in patients with non-rheumatic atrial fibrillation (AF).
It is used to determine whether or not treatment is required with anticoagulation therapy or antiplatelet therapy.
A high CHADS2 score corresponds to a greater risk of stroke, while a low CHADS2 score corresponds to a lower risk of stroke. The CHADS2 score is simple and has been validated by many studies.
This app is developed by Dr. Farookh Jishi a consultant physician in Acute Medicine. It tries to provide an easier way to get a valid CHADS2 score. Let’s see how it works. (read more)
Purpose of the App Review
- How does Ringadoc work?
- Is there any cost to me?
- How does the app work with the service?
Introduction
There’s no doubt that physicians in private practice have been getting the squeeze, with recent across the board reimbursement cuts and increasing overhead costs. As the savvy private practice doctor tries to cut costs, expensive answering services may be some low hanging fruit.
Ringadoc is an online service that will allow your patients to leave a message at the doctor’s office and send the message directly to the person on call’s smartphone.
The Ringadoc service is free for one month then $49/month for up to 4 providers.The app is free on iOS and Google Play.
(read more)
Purpose of App Review
How useful is PaediCalc as a clinical application in pediatrics?
Introduction
The mantra of pediatrics is “children are not little adults.” When treating children, clinicians must use a child’s weight and age to calculate medication dosing and choose correctly sized equipment. Even the range of normal vital signs may differ greatly based on age.
Taking care of sick children in an emergent, critical setting is a stressful situation fraught with potential for calculation errors. Several systems exist to standardize these calculations and avoid errors.
US emergency departments traditionally use Broselow Tape. Now mobile apps are being developed to make that information available in every provider’s pocket. We’ve already reviewed several apps in this category, for example: PedsMeds, Safe Dose, and Quik Calc. Pedi Safe is another popular pediatric calculation app.
Here we will review PaediCalc, a new iOS app from mobile247, an Australian company. (read more)
Purpose of App Review
To showcase an app that helps nurses to determine infusion and dilution calculations.
Introduction
Infusion Nurse was created by a nurse for nurses. It contains quick and easy calculators to help with diluting substances, infusions, drug doses, concentrations, and drop rates.
The app itself offers a number of different functions that a nurse may find useful on a day to day basis including,
- Dose/Concentration/Volume
- Dilution
- Infusion Rate
- Convert Speed
- Calculate Drop Rate
According to the description in the Google Play store, Infusion Nurse was developed by a nurse though we have no way of knowing this nurse’s credentials or affiliation. It’s apparent that the developer goes by the moniker Kingel, but there is no other online presence for this group or individual. Infusion Nurse could benefit from being more transparent about who is behind the handy tool.
(read more)
By: Christopher Matthews
Point of Care (POC) testing has been used by EMS for quite a long time. It allows the EMT and Paramedic to follow up on potential causes of a patient’s condition and rule out the things that could be a distraction to good care.
With POC testing, we can check the patient’s oxygen saturation, carbon dioxide levels, heart rhythm, blood sugar, carboxyhemoglobin, other blood gases, cardiac enzymes, and even the patient’s cholesterol.
POC testing used to take several minutes for each test, but with 21st century technology, multiple test results can be returned to us in less than five minutes. Some of the POC tests we can perform have nearly instant results. This can help guide us to provide more certain patient care. It can also help us avoid performing blanket treatments for several possible conditions, like the old fashioned “coma cocktail”.
We discuss some of the new POC options available for EMS field use in this article below. (read more)
By: Steven Chan, MD/MBA
To sum up the spirit at Health 2.0′s inaugural Health: Refactored code & design conference – it’s energetic yet complicated. Complicated for the sheer amount of work — the sheer amount of opportunity — available in the healthcare technology space.
It’s also partly because the healthcare industry has an enormous amount of catching-up to do, encumbered by entrenched players and cumbersome regulations. (read more)
Purpose of App Review
How useful is this app in teaching about hypertension?
Introduction
Learning the complex pathophysiology of diseases can seem like a daunting task. Reading physiology from a textbook prevents the reader from visualizing the actual processes that happen throughout our bodies, making the learning process especially hard. Focus Medica has created a series of apps that include animated videos to teach the pathophysiology of numerous diseases, including hypertension, which can be used as learning tools for patients and possibly for students.
(read more)
Purpose of App Review
- Discuss an anatomy atlas for on-the-go access.
Introduction
The Pocket Atlas of Anatomy app for Android serves to provide users, mostly students and those in a dissection laboratory, with clear images and accurate definitions of the human anatomy. Information found in this app (including illustrations, references, and definitions) is mostly derived from Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary and Gray’s Anatomy for Students.
Both reputable and renowned sources for medical school students and practicing professionals alike. Users can access Pocket Atlas of Anatomy’s content both online and offline.
There is an option to download all of the app data while on a wireless internet connection to allow for use when in offline mode or outside of a Wi-Fi connection.
It’s important to also note that the content found in this app is still offered to users on a trial basis, unless the product becomes purchased by the user. It is unclear how long the trial period lasts for, but access to the full resource is available during this time.
(read more)
The Future of Advanced Prehospital Care
By: Christopher Matthews
Point of Care (POC) testing has been used by EMS for quite a long time. It allows the EMT and Paramedic to follow up on potential causes of a patient’s condition and rule out the things that could be a distraction to good care.
With POC testing, we can check the patient’s oxygen saturation, carbon dioxide levels, heart rhythm, blood sugar, carboxyhemoglobin, other blood gases, cardiac enzymes, and even the patient’s cholesterol.
POC testing used to take several minutes for each test, but with 21st century technology, multiple test results can be returned to us in less than five minutes. Some of the POC tests we can perform have nearly instant results. This can help guide us to provide more certain patient care. It can also help us avoid performing blanket treatments for several possible conditions, like the old fashioned “coma cocktail”.
We discuss some of the new POC options available for EMS field use in this article below. (read more)