iPad medical apps
iPhones and iPads take position on doctor’s wall: the future of the physical exam
Two applications, Ear Trumpet and Eye Chart hint at the promise of mobile medical applications to enhance the traditional instruments for hearing and vision testing.
Eye Chart Pro
Eye Chart Pro (iTunes link) is a clever implementation of the classic Snellen eye chart for use on an the iPad. It will also work as a quick “pocket” eye chart on the iPhone. As shown in the screenshot, the implementation is recognizable to anybody who has ever been in the doctor’s office. In practice, the clinician is supposed to hold the screen 10 feet from the patient in order to get an accurate assessment of visual acuity. In contrast to a paper chart, the letters can be randomized so patients cannot memorize the letters. Users can upgrade via an in-app purchase of $3.99 to a premium version which allows for smaller letters, which allows testing from five feet, as well as other features. The non-premium version is free, although the App store currently has it labeled as a “Limited Offer”.
The app has been one of the most popular medical apps on the website, likely in some part due to the fact it was available at the launch of the iPad. The developer (web page) states the app was the #1 medical app for two months and is being “used all over the country”. The Orange County register recently reported highlighted the app as part of a photo series on the iPad integration into UC Irvine medical school curriculum.
Epocrates adds multi-tasking support to iOS 4 – now significantly easier to use
Epocrates latest update for iOS 4 (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad operating systems) allows for multi-tasking support, also known as “fast app switching”. If you use Epocrates consistently, this is extremely welcome news.
The app is now significantly easier to use. When you close out of the app it saves the last screen you were on – so if you have to reference that drug you just wrote a script for, you don’t have to waste time searching for it again.
If you haven’t already, make sure to check out our full review of the different premium versions of Epocrates.
iPad being used in Gulf Oil Spill for real time Public Health reporting
The director of the Louisiana Poison Center, Mark Ryan, is using the iPad to help report cases of Gulf Oil Spill related poisonings to the Public Health Department more quickly.
He is using the app, LogMeIn Ignition, to remotely log into his work PC where he can collaborate with the U.S. Health Department.
Using his iPad, he is able to file reports with the Health Department within 15 minutes of receiving a case.
The iPad allows him to do this type of reporting when he is not at the office, and around the clock.
It’s key to file the reports immediately so the Health Department can monitor trends and respond in a more timely fashion.
VisualDx Mobile for the iPad is now in the app store [iPad App Review]
One of the better examples of a mobile medical app that provides useful point-of-care information is VisualDx Mobile. This iPhone application (iTunes link) is powered by a rich database of high quality, carefully tagged images of dermatological conditions that can be efficiently searched by one or multiple keywords.
To learn more about the app, check out our iMedicalApps review here . To get a glimpse of the design philosophy behind VisualDx, check out our interview with the CMIO of Logical Images, Art Papier, MD.
The quality of the images and reliance on visual to make a diagnosis made the iPhone app a natural fit for the iPad. In fact, we had predicted the potential shortly after the iPad was announced and had counted VisualDx as on of the Top 5 iPad medical apps that we were eagerly awaiting.
Australian’s state government launches $500,000 pilot program to use the iPad in hospital treatment
Physicians in Victoria, the second most populous state in Australia, will be conducting a pilot program using the iPad for hospital treatment.
They will purchase 500 iPads initially and the total cost of the rollout will be $500,000. Â The rollout of the iPads will start January of next year.
“The iPads will allow doctors and nurses to access any web-enabled application run by their hospital as they move around the hospital, as well as allowing them to tap into health information resources,” he said.
“The iPads will connect via the wi-fi networks that allow secure, safe wireless connectivity within the hospital while not affecting other important and sensitive electronic patient care equipment.”
From the quotes it appears the pilot program is interested in seeing how the iPad performs from a mobile medicine standpoint and will rely heavily on web-enabled applications. Â We recently had a post touch on how web apps are crucial for mobile medicine by not restricting content to one particular platform.
This $500,000 pilot project should provide some great data to show how effective the iPad actually is in the hospital setting. I’m sure may hospital administrators will be watching how the program unfolds.
Source: ComputerWorld.com.au
Frog Dissection lets you see the insides of a frog while keeping your iPad clean
We could not miss the chance to highlight the first (we believe) animal dissection app for the iPad. Frog Dissection by Punflay shows you, in about a dozen quick steps, how to open up the abdomen and chest of a frog and see what the various organs are.
The app has already garnered the PETA Mark Twain Ethical Science award. We are not sure if this will start a new venue of competition among medical app developers but it certainly shows off the different ways in which medical education and a tablet device could converge.
Medical App News 7/8/10
Cisco announces Cius tablet, potential competitor for the iPad in healthcare
The Cius is a 7-in., 1.15 lbs. tablet powered by an Intel Atom processor and Google’s Android OS version 2.2. Computerworld compares how the Cius may be attractive to hospital CIO’s.
Microsoft Aims To Alleviate Health IT Cloud Concerns
Healthcare providers still have many reservations about the security of cloud computing for electronic medical records and mission-critical apps.[Infoworld]
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is experimenting with the iPad in the hospital wards
We reported a few months ago, before the release of the iPad, on rumors that the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles had been given the “next Apple Tablet” to experiment with in the hospital. At the time even the Washington Post was speculating on these rumors.
An article in USA Today detailing the multipurpose uses of the iPad is shedding some new light on the Cedars-Sinai and Apple relationship. The hospital is currently experimenting with the iPad’s ability to enhance the physician patient relationship – and twelve iPads are currently being used in the wards to make rounds with physicians.
Notable iPhone and iPad medical apps released this past week
One of the new segments we’re starting on the site is mentioning iPhone and iPad medical applications that were released during the past week that are worth checking out.
We haven’t reviewed these apps in depth – unlike the medical apps you’ll find on our app review section – but you might find them worthy of a download.
