How apps are changing family medicine

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Digital Health
• Mobile Health Applications

Background:

• The proliferation of medical applications on smartphones and tablets presents challenges for healthcare providers and patients.
• Identifying reliable and effective mobile health tools is crucial amidst app overload.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of select medical applications relevant to clinical practice.
• To categorize applications based on their regulatory status and utility, including FDA-approved, reference, and physician-recommended tools.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and app store analysis.
• Categorization of applications based on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, reference utility, and common physician prescription patterns.

Main Results:

• Identification of key FDA-approved medical applications.
• Highlighting essential reference applications for quick clinical information retrieval.
• Summarizing physician-prescribed applications commonly used in practice.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare providers can leverage curated lists of medical applications to combat app overload.
• Informed selection of digital health tools, including FDA-approved and physician-recommended apps, can enhance patient care and clinical efficiency.