By Brian Dolan & Chris Gullo
In September, Apple added a new section to its AppStore for healthcare professionals.
It has been an ongoing challenge for healthcare professionals to find useful apps for care settings. While a handful of blogs exist with recommendations from individual medical students or physicians, Happtique has emerged as a filtered medical app store of sorts that intends to make it easier for healthcare facilities to distribute apps. Happtique recently announced 11 hospital partners will pilot its offering.
Around the same time, Apple launched a new healthcare app section for professionals. In its first iteration this "iTunes healthcare room" is a small space that highlights slightly more than 50 of the 3,662 medical apps found in the app store that are intended for use by medical professionals. (For more on those, be sure to check out our report on Professional Medical apps.) You could assume then, that these 50 apps are the top 1.3 percent of medical apps in Apple's opinion.
Unfortunately, this iTunes room, this special healthcare apps section for medical professionals is not very easy to find. While there may be others, the only apparent link to it is on Apple.com's iPhone enterprise section. It's buried. The AppStore sometimes features an ad for the section but not always. How does that really help medical professionals find apps then?
Finally, the original intent of Apple's medical category was for it to be a section of apps for healthcare professionals. A medical student suggested Apple create it, and they did. The curation of the section was poor, however, and today it offers thousands of apps intended for use by consumers -- many of which aren't even health-related.
So, what appear to be Apple's top 1.3 percent of medical apps for healthcare professionals? We have compiled a slideshow of the apps below and broken them into the categories that Apple uses in its healthcare professionals section. Curiously, almost all of the apps in this section also have made for iPad versions, too. Read on for a brief description of each and some screenshots of the apps' iPad versions:
REFERENCE APPS
Definition: Medical reference apps provide information about medications, diseases, conditions, and other medical topics.
WebMD
The Merck Manual - Professional Edition
The Merck Manual's iOS app is a digital version of its reference text. Users can browse the app by section and by symptom, and the app automatically logs what sections users have read.
WebMD for iPad
WebMD's iPad app for consumers includes a symptom checker, drug & treatment information, first aid essentials, and local health listings. The app also includes a pill identification tool.
Medscape
WebMD's physician app had the distinction of being the most downloaded free medical app of 2010. It includes a drug interaction checker, procedure reference, and daily medical news updates.
Microdex Drug Information
The app is described as "a free resource for on-the-go access to the industry’s most trusted clinical reference information, providing users the peace-of mind of knowing the information is from Micromedex, coupled with the ease of use of iPhone and iPad."
REFERENCE APPS (cont'd)
PubMed
DocBook MD
DocBookMD is a HIPAA compliant way to look up and contact members of your local medical society and pharmacies. A Medical Society identification number is needed in order to use the application.
PubMed
PubMed On Tap searches PubMed to find and display reference information. Users can store references (with pdfs) in a personal and searchable library, retrieve pdfs from the Web, and E-mail references from within the application.
Visual DX
"This new medical app combines physician-reviewed clinical information with THOUSANDS of medical images from renowned physician and institutional collections. The only medical application to represent the variation of disease presentation through age, stage, and skin type, VisualDx Mobile addresses the key complexities faced by many clinicians today when diagnosing dermatologic and other visual conditions."
EDUCATION APPS
Definition: Education Apps in this section include a number of anatomy focused apps that offer visual diagrams for parts of, or the whole of, the human body, and include a couple of apps that provide access to some medical journals and other clinical reference materials. Many medical apps could be considered clinical consultation apps, but those contained in the group typically do not provide any particular guidelines for care – only reference materials.
Heart Pro
Heart Pro (NOVA Series) - iPad Edition
The Heart Pro app has reached the number one list on Medical iPad apps (Top Paid and Top Grossing) in over 40 countries, according to the developer. Users can rotate, stop, cut open and label the components of the heart using finger gestures.
The Oncologist
"The Oncologist is dedicated to helping oncology, hematology and radiation professionals stay on the cutting edge of new medical treatments and technologies, encouraging better cancer patient care and practice management. We are pleased to offer you the same trusted articles and case studies published in current print and online editions of the Journal over the last 12 months. This App also features video and audio podcasts featuring news and latest research advances in cancer control and care."
JACC iPad Edition
The JACC iPad takes the weekly cardiology journal and adds editor-selected resources from CardioSource. There is also related video, audio, and commentary.
modalityBODY: Interactive Anatomy and Medical Imaging
Highlighted by Steve Jobs in Apple's 2010 WWDC Keynote, the modalityBODY App enables you to create interactive image libraries of the human body for professional reference, training, and patient education. Compile images from renowned medical texts or from your own photos to create custom collections.
EDUCATION APPS (cont'd)
Muscle & Bone Anatomy 3D
Anatomy 3D: Organs
"Expand your knowledge of the organs with this robust application that combines 3D models, video, audio lectures, quizzes and text to create a rich learning experience. Each of the 16 pages includes beautiful diagrams of the organ anatomy, histology and location, along with text, video, audio and 3d models that support easy learning."
CARDIO3 Comprehensive Atlas of Echocardiography [HD]
This app touts itself as "a reference/learning tool for cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, internists, other physicians, and sonographers evaluating echocardiograms for ultrasound diagnosis."
MedPage Today Mobile
"MedPage Today Mobile puts breaking medical news and CME/CE credits at your fingertips, with daily coverage of over 30 specialties and annual coverage of over 60 meetings and symposia. Features breaking medical news, audio reports, and video reports."
Muscle & Bone Anatomy 3D
A reference for the human musculo-skeletal system, this app features five ways to learn about the body: The VIEWER, ACTIONS, 3-D MODELS, two types of QUIZZES, and VIDEOS. Touted by the developer as being used at the University of Ohio.
EMR & PATIENT MONITORING APPS
Definition: Electronic medical records apps provide healthcare professionals access to their facility’s medical records system either in part or in full. Patient Monitoring enable clinicians to check-in on patients or review their vital signs from their mobile device without having to be at the bedside.
Epic Canto
Epic Canto
"Canto provides authorized clinical users of Epic’s Electronic Health Record with secure access to clinic schedules, hospital patient lists, health summaries, test results and notes. Canto also supports dictation and In Basket access. Canto works on iPads running iOS 4.2 or greater."
CA Mobile
"Developed by physicians for physicians, the Centricity Advance mobile EMR app allows MDs to move beyond traditional EMRs with a truly physician-centered workflow tool. With Centricity Advance, physicians can seamlessly review and edit patient summary information, use e-prescribing to refill and fill new prescriptions, display lab results, and more."
Cerner Physician Express
"Physician Express is a Cerner solution that enables quick access to review clinical information and submit orders. From a patient list, the provider can quickly view the patient's current and outstanding orders, as well as access comprehensive clinical information such as problems, diagnosis, allergies, medications, vitals, and more."
Airstrip Cardiology
AirStrip Cardiology allows clinicians to review the extent of a patient’s ECG history. It can receive 12 lead ECG waveforms and other data wirelessly from Emergency Medical Services (i.e. an ambulance) and the hospital ECG management system.
Allscripts Wombat
"Wombat makes it easy, efficient, effortless and enjoyable for healthcare professionals to control their Allscripts EHR from the Apple iPad. With “Wombat”, clinical information for a patient is at the fingertips of a healthcare professional. It is targeted at the 20% of EHR functionality that physicians and clinical staff use 80% of the time while in the exam room and in the hallway."
EMR & PATIENT MONITORING APPS (cont'd)
drChrono
AirStrip - Patient Monitoring
"AirStrip is a robust remote patient monitoring solution for clinicians. AirStrip connects you to your patients anywhere you have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. No matter where you are, AirStrip can greatly reduce and even eliminate time delay in the clinical assessment and treatment of patients. AirStrip pulls information from hundreds of different types of patient monitors and ECG machines, and a variety of other clinical information coming from your facility’s EMR."
Care360 HD
"Physicians, now you can take your office wherever you go. Log onto your virtual desk to view and take action on lab results, prescription requests (ePrescribing) and, view all of your patient charts. This Free App is the mobile companion to Care360 from Quest Diagnostics."
drChrono EHR
"drchrono is certified as a complete EHR (Electronic Health Record) in accordance with ONC-ATCB stage 1 meaningful use criteria. Our iPad EHR will qualify you for meaningful use EHR incentives. Use the certified iPad EHR and EHR platform to qualify for $44,000+ under the economic stimulus plan incentives under the HITECH Act – for free."
Nimble EMR
"Nimble from ClearPractice is a full featured EMR designed specifically for the iPad and iOS platform. It is a robust solution that provides busy doctors with all the information and tools they need to provide optimal patient care, whether in the exam room, hospital room, or family room. Nimble is mobile, easy to use and brings back the joy of practicing medicine."
IMAGING APPS
Definition: Imaging apps include diagnostic imaging apps and other applications that enable clinicians to view and/or transfer their patients’ clinical images. Some imaging reference apps are mixed in here, too.
Mobile MIM
Mobile MIM
"The Mobile MIM software program is used for the registration, fusion, and/or display for diagnosis of medical images from only the following modalities: SPECT, PET, CT, and MRI. Mobile MIM provides wireless and portable access to medical images. This device is not intended to replace full workstations and should be used only when there is no access to a workstation."
Siemens syngo®.via WebViewer
"The syngo®.via WebViewer application provides access anywhere* to image data using standard viewing tools on your mobile device. The client-server architecture does not require DICOM image data or confidential patient information to be retained on the device, providing clinicians with instant access while ensuring data security**."
Centricity Radiology Mobile Access
Centricity Radiology Mobile Access helps you support secure, efficient healthcare delivery with true anytime, anywhere access to images and reports from Centricity PACS. The AccessNOW application supports a broad range of modalities with 2D, 3D, and MIP/MPR capabilities.
Fujifilm Synapse Mobility
"Synapse™ Mobility provides access to FUJIFILM's Synapse product suite using hand-held mobile devices, providing Radiologists and Physicians with on-the-go access to the images and information stored within FUJIFILM systems. The Synapse Mobility application provides interactive three dimensional images for iPhone® and iPad® allowing images to be manipulated using the 2D, 3D, and MIP/MPR feature sets within the app."
IMAGING APPS (cont'd)
Radiopaedia
CTisus iQuiz: The HD Edition
"One of the classic formats for learning radiology has always been the quiz. In this application we provide you with our latest innovation in CT education taking advantage of the iPad and iPhone. Unique capabilities allowing us to provide an easy to use environment that combines images, text and sound to enhance the learning experience."
Radiopaedia Vol 6: Head and Neck Radiology Teaching File HD
"Radiopaedia.org is a free radiology resource written by and for the global radiology community. We provide these Radiology Teaching Files to further your learning, help in preparation for board exams, and as a quick reference. You can squeeze in learning in a few spare minutes no matter where you are. This is the first volume to be remastered for the iPad. It contains the same 50 cases as the iPhone version, however a number of additional features have been developed."
Siemens syngo®.via WebReport
"The syngo®.via WebReport application provides access anywhere* to written diagnostic reports and image data using standard viewing tools on your mobile device. The client-server architecture does not require DICOM image data or confidential patient information to be retained on the device, providing clinicians with instant access while ensuring data security."
POINT OF CARE APPS
Definition: Point of care apps are used during patient visits and most of those listed below are intended to help care providers communicate better with their patients by providing rich visual aids or breaking down language barriers, for example. A few of these apps are also clinical decision support type apps.
Muscle System Pro
Muscle System Pro II (NOVA Series) - iPad edition
"The Muscle System Pro II - (NOVA Series) is a cutting edge app built on our NOVA technology. It is a completely new app, every detail has been re-designed from the photo-realistic 3D model to the quick navigation. There are thousands of changes - including the most in-depth 3D muscle system ever developed, the ability to rotate, cut away muscles all with the simple stroke of the finger or by pressing one of the intuitive buttons."
EyeDecide
"Orca MD is proud to announce EyeDecide— the newest addition to the Decide Series! The Decide Medical App Series helps you, the patient, understand your medical condition and the treatments necessary for a healthy recovery. With an interactive user interface, owners of the Decide Series will have the ability to VIEW, EXPLORE, PINPOINT, LEARN, LOCATE, and SHARE the information they receive."
iSpineCare
"iSpineCare is a 3D animation library of spine anatomy and pathology movies and medical imaging that can be used to increase the quality of your patient education, while decreasing the time involved in delivering it."
Medical French
"Communicate with your French speaking patients quickly and easily with Medical French, the premier French phrasebook for healthcare professionals. Created by and for healthcare professionals, this app is well organized and easy to use, allowing you to effectively gather a history & physical on nearly any patient."
drawMD Orthopedics
"DrawMD Orthopedics enhances doctor-patient communication by offering a new paradigm for explaining the complex issues surrounding Orthopedic clinical and surgical care. In order to improve patient understanding of medical problems, drawMD utilizes the iPad's unique interface to allow anyone to sketch, stamp, or type directly on the detailed anatomic images included in the application."
POINT OF CARE APPS (cont'd)
FINR Brain Atlas
drawMD Urology
"drawMD Urology enhances doctor-patient communication by offering a new paradigm for explaining complex issues and their possible medical and surgical solutions. Designed by two Urologists seeking to improve patient understanding of medical problems, drawMD Urology utilizes the iPad’s unique interface to allow anyone to sketch, stamp, or type directly on the detailed anatomic images included in the application."
FINR Brain Atlas
"Explore the anatomy of the brain and common brain injuries in a 3-dimensional model. Detailed descriptions include the function of normal structures, related structures, common injuries to those areas, and resulting deficits due to damage."
iURO Kidney
"Powerful 3D urologic application, committed with the actual requests to ease the understanding of pathologies and therapies in the medical surgery sector. Our aim, defined to empower the communication, it´s based in facilitate the comprehension between doctors, patients and medicine students in all areas related to Urology."
Muscle Trigger Points
"A Reference for the most common trigger points and referral patterns for over 70 muscles. Features 100+ trigger points with their corresponding referral patterns. Each muscle includes the visual referral pattern and point location, plus a written muscle action, referral and comments for each muscle. You can choose to view each muscle individually, or use the zones view to see all the muscles that refer into a specific area, a great help in discovering the source of pain."
FootDecide
"FootDecide is Orca’s newest medical app in the Decide Series. It is a physician-based medical app designed to provide easy access to information, discussion, and current scientifically recommended treatment for common foot and ankle conditions. FootDecide goes beyond all previous Orca apps in its introduction of full 3D anatomical motion simulation. "
PERSONAL CARE APPS
Definition: If you think this section muddies the waters, we tend to agree. These were the handful of consumer apps found in the “Apps for Healthcare Professionals” section. As best we can figure it, Personal Care Apps are a list of suggestions that physicians and nurses might consider recommending to their patients. That's great since it drives awareness of a few consumer health apps, but it seems to defeat the point of the section, right?
Walgreens
MyNetDiary -- Food and Exercise Diary for iPad
"MyNetDiary is the easiest to use and most comprehensive food diary and calorie counter app on the iPad. MyNetDiary helps people lose weight naturally - by eating better and making better daily food choices. MyNetDiary has already helped over 1.5 million people work toward their dieting goals – why not start on your goal today!"
VueMe
"VueMe is intended to be used by patients for the non-diagnostic viewing of medical images. Image data can be transferred to the device by using MIMcloud. MIMcloud is a secure, Internet-based medical imaging service that provides a central, easily accessible resource for storing, sharing, and viewing. Visit www.mimcloud.com to learn more and create an account."
Walgreens for iPad
"This exclusive Walgreens app feature lets you use your iPad’s camera to order refills in seconds. Take a picture on your iPad, upload it to your Walgreens photo album, and pick up the print in about an hour. Find the store nearest you with GPS positioning. Flip through your Weekly Ad with the flick of a finger to find exclusive in-store savings. Then add the great deals you find to a shopping list and share them with friends and family."
Calorie Tracker - LIVESTRONG
"LIVESTRONG.COM'S Calorie Tracker can help you reach your diet, weight loss and fitness goals by tracking your daily calories and exercise. Lose weight easily by setting your weight management goals and track your calories and progress with our comprehensive online food journal containing over 625,000 food and fitness items."
Proloquo2Go
"Proloquo2Go provides a full-featured augmentative and alternative communication solution for people who have difficulty speaking. It provides natural sounding text-to-speech voices (CURRENTLY AMERICAN, BRITISH and INDIAN ENGLISH ONLY), high resolution up-to-date symbols, powerful automatic conjugations, a default vocabulary of over 7000 items, advanced word prediction, full expandability and extreme ease of use."
PERSONAL CARE APPS (cont'd)
WiScale
Diabetes Buddy - Control Your Blood Sugar
"Blood sugar control is often the central theme when it comes to diabetes management. Diabetes Buddy is built to help you manage your diabetes by: tracking the factors that influence your blood sugar level, monitoring the fluctuations, planning ahead accordingly, and sharing your data with your doctor."
GoMealsHD
"GoMeals is three applications in one: a database full of nutritional information on your favorite foods and restaurant menu items, a food tracking tool to record your meals, and a restaurant locator. Powered by the CalorieKing nutritional database, GoMeals allows you to search thousands of foods and dishes from popular restaurants, grocery stores and the items you have in your own kitchen to easily see the nutritional value (i.e. calories, carbohydrates, fats, protein, etc.) of the foods you eat."
iHealthBPM
"First ever Blood Pressure (BP) Monitoring System for iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. iHealth turns your iPhone into a powerful blood pressure monitor. It includes a diary for tracking BP measurements taken by the iHealth BP dock. Its elegant user interface and vivid testing process makes keeping an eye on vital signs more enjoyable than ever before. It also empowers you to see the changes and reasons behind them using simple tools: interactive graph, management, smart World Health Organization (WHO) classifications, and an FAQ."
iMuscle (NOVA Series)
"iMuscle is a sophisticated workout aid that can be taken anywhere. Use it to identify a body part or individual muscle by zooming into a 3-Dimensional human body with the musculature exposed. Then access all the exercises associated with the development / rehabilitation of that muscle."
WiScale
"This application allows you to easily monitor essential health and fitness data: weight, fat mass, lean mass, BMI, blood pressure and heart rate. Thanks to the graphic displays, you can check changes in health trends with just a glance. All our users will tell you, the Withings app helps them stay on track for a healthier lifestyle."
To keep tabs on this section in the AppStore, be sure to check it out yourself here.
