- By: Neil Chanchlani
That’s all you seem to hear these days—on the streets, in the cinema, and more commonly, on the wards. Students are known for being glued to their mobile phones, but now they have an excuse. “It’s for education purposes” or “I’m looking up something related…” are words often guiltily uttered when students are caught tapping away by their seniors. It is predicted that 83% of medical doctors in the US will own a smartphone by the end of this year. What will you use it for?
Benjamin Visser and Jonathan Bouman give advice on how to choose a good medical app. The choice isn’t easy, as they explain. You must take into account the dangers of apps; violating patient privacy, falling victim to pharmaceutical advertising, as well as purchasing apps with non-peer reviewed content. In their article (doi:10.1136/sbmj.e2162), they tell you how to spot a good quality and reliable app.