The Evolving Medical ReferenceBy Nate Minnick, D.O.,Emergency Medicine Resident, St. John Hospital and Medical Center The days of carrying pocket books, even text books, have practically reached their end. In a 2011 survey of 3,700 physicians, 83% had a smart phone. 67% of those with a smart phone utilized it for looking up prescription dosages1. Tablets, netbooks, and smart phones ease the physician’s pocket and align reference sources. Although many choices of applications (apps) for similar tasks exist, the medical professional can usually tell instantly as to the quality and usefulness of the product. Last July, St. John Hospital and Medical Center emergency medicine residents received iPads. The hospital provides free access to Lexicomp, a pharmacology reference. Pharmacoepia pocketbooks are no longer as necessary. In addition, Epocrates is another free app that maintains timely recommendations for treatments and dosing. Medical education is changing as more students and residents carry mobile devices. Asking students questions such as, “How do you correct sodium in hyperglycemia?” typically causes the response, “Use the iPhone calculator.” MedCalc and Qx Calculate are two free apps with numerous common calculations, from A-a gradients to Well’s Criteria. Medscape/eMedicine has a mobile app, one of the few free references that exist as an app. Textbooks are also starting to become more commonplace in digital form. Apple recently announced an update to its iBooks platform2, and Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet is designed particularly for book and media consumption. Even experienced physicians are becoming more aware of the move toward mobile medical knowledge. Although the EMR system remains in the Cerner suite, which is optimized for mouse and keyboard computers, recently, residents were granted access to PACS on their iPads. EKG and radiology will likely move to a more mobile platform within the next ten years, moving the medical field into the accessibility sphere that data informatics absorbed ten years ago. Regulation of medical apps by the FDA stands as the greatest barrier to adaptation; ingenuity and app development exist from many levels. Last year, the first radiology mobile-centric application, “Mim”, for radiology was approved by the FDA3. Despite its introduction in 2008, followed by awards for design, it remained unreleased until 2011.
TED conferences (Technology, Entertainment, Design) frequently have
lectures on medical informatics, apps, and accessibility. Some previews
upcoming hand-held ultrasound tools or laboratory data for patient
usage. Those interested in seeing more about near-future medical apps,
can see these lectures for free (either on their desktop or mobile
device).
# # # Posted:
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
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