A new smartphone app created by a physician in Scotland that provides up to date clinical guidelines from the NHS has been downloaded more than 8,000 times. The app debuted on iPhone in April and is now available on Android phones.
The SIGN app (which stands for Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) enables physicians (and patients) to view the NHS clinical guidelines for eleven illnesses, including asthma, diabetes, and eczema. Its creator, Professor John Kinsella, works in intensive care at Glasgow's Royal Infirmary and wanted a more efficient way of accessing new guidelines. Previously, he had to view paper records or log into a website.
"The problem is that clinical guidance is sometimes in a paper form which is difficult to find, or it can be accessed on the internet which means logging in and often you've got to log out of some other programme first," he told BBC News. "In that period you are losing valuable time when you should be doing some other task. It is basically a delay, and sometimes a delay prevents you from doing it at all."
NHS Scotland will update the app with more conditions over time.
"The real advantage is that these guidelines are easy to access by members of the public," Kinsella said. "It is entirely logical that if you have a certain condition, it is very useful for you to be able to look up what care you should expect to receive. This empowers patients and makes the discussion between the doctor and patient much more well informed."
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