Caveats of smartphone applications for the cardiothoracic trainee

The clinical environment is becoming increasingly dominated by information technology, most recently the smartphone with its applications (apps) of a multitude of uses. There are already tens of thousands of medical apps available for download, to educate both patients and trainees, and many more are being designed to facilitate delivery of care. The rapid development of this technology has outgrown its quality evaluation and regulation, both urgently required to maintain patient safety, protect sensitive data, and ensure dissemination of accurate information. We review medical apps themed towards cardiothoracic surgery in terms of medical professional involvement in their content and design.

iTunes and Play Store were searched for cardiothoracic surgery-themed medical apps, using the terms cardiothoracic, thoracic, cardiac, heart, lung, surgery, and variations thereof and including the term medical.

A focused search yielded 379 apps, of which 6% were associated with a named medical professional, 15% with a publisher or professional society, and 63% with a user rating.

The findings suggest inadequate input from the medical profession. The article discusses the pressing issues regarding quality evaluation, regulation, and information security, required for smartphones and handheld devices to become an integral and safe part of delivery of care.