Mobile apps for medical use
Dr. Tom and his interns came upon a special patient. As a senior doctor in this hospital, the interns always looked up to him for guidance. He knew what happened to the patient as well as the treatment but he forgot the dosage of the drug that he must gave to the patient. He had been working for 14 hours in the emergency room and performed three surgeries so he was exhausted, but he must make decision quick. He reached into his pocket and pull out his iPhone. With a tap on an app called “MedCalc”, he had the answer within a minute. He gave the order to the nurse to bring the medicine with the right dosage for the patient.
Today medical field is changing fast by the application of Information Technology (IT), especially in the use of mobile phone applications designed for doctor like Dr. Tom. There are hundreds of special apps to help doctor to diagnose symptoms, to treat patients, and to obtain and share information with other doctors.
Dr. Tom was a new type of medical doctor, he grew up with computer and the Internet and he liked technology very much. When the iPhone came, he was one of the first few doctors in this hospital to use it as a clinical tool. He found many useful apps and encouraged other doctors as well as patients to take advantage of technology. When he worked with elderly patients, he knew most of them may not remember what he told them so he ordered them to use the “Med-Remind” apps. When patients needed to take the medicine at certain time, the phone rings and reminded them. After they took the medicine, they tapped into the apps and it sent a message back to Dr. Tom that the patient has taken the medicine.
Dr. Tom had many apps in his iPhone. He proudly told everyone that he had the whole medical library in his pocket at anytime. He could look up any information that he needed at a tap on his phone. Beside the “Medcalc” app to calculate drug dosages, he also use the “eProcrates” app to check for drug interactions to make sure that the drug that he gave his patients will not interact with other drugs and gave patients bad effect. He also used the “Qx Calculate” app to create risk profiles for his patients. When seeing patients, instead of taking notes on a notebook, he wrote on his iPad tablet and it converted his writing into an “electronic health record” and automatically stored them in the hospital database. Tablet computers that are linked to electronic health records are becoming popular in many hospitals today.
The application of Information technology in the medical area is only the beginning but it promises a very bright future. According to an estimate, mobile heath market already reached over billion dollars and still growing quick. A software developer explained: “Most developers only focus on develop mobile game apps and sell it for one or two dollars. I develop mobile medical apps and sell it for several hundred dollars. Most doctors love them as they can afford to buy them since they have money. Hospitals also buy them for their doctors because it is very convenience. It is like to have an assistant in your pocket. It is a new business and it is highly profitable.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
