How Practices can benefit from Text Messaging

People consider SMS's (Text Messaging) as the most convenient form of keeping in touch with the people around them. It is no surprise then that Text Messaging has been found to be the most liked feature on mobile phones. An affordable option for keeping in touch, Text Messaging can help healthcare immensely.

Some simple ways by which Text Messaging helps practices provide better patient care:

- Reminding Patients regarding Appointments and Lab Tests.

- Infant immunization alerts for parents

- Blood donor information and alerts

- Medication Alerts for Patients

- Diet and Exercise Alerts to ensure adherence for Patients

- Health Insurance claims update

- Messages to wish discharged patients

- Instant provision of information 24/7 via a 2 way SMS service

By using Text Messaging effectively, practices can also improve internal productivity and tighten their internal workflows. Ways in which Text Messaging helps Practice Productivity:

- Daily provision of Stock related information and special alerts on insufficient stock of items allows store managers and pharmacies to keep on top of their inventory

- Alert Messages to inform Technicians of maintenance Schedules

- Regular Shift wise schedules to staff

- Daily Message with Summary of financials to management staff

- Instant message to duty staff in case of emergencies

- Message to confirm appointment with a doctor / dentist

- End of day consultation summary

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A Guide to Improving your Patient Interaction and Outreach

Technology enables, but man disables by not taking advantage of opportunities given to him. As a Physicians today, you have many key touch points to increase and consequently improve your interactions with patients. Some are simple methods, some require a little bit of work, but what is the end advantage of it all? For one thing it makes you popular amongst patients;  and the side effect could lead you to get more business.

Second it helps educate and provide information to patients and people who may read just what they need, thanks to you! A little help goes a long way in accumulating blessings.

Third, contributing to the general knowledge resource of the community improves the very community you are part off, it encourages others to follow suit.

So now what do you need to do?

1. Reach out to many in the general audience: Start writing, the internet lets you update and express views, either as 160 character bursts on twitter, or a long blog detailing your experience.

Twitter: On twitter you can start putting up bursts of interesting cases you see, new techniques you here about, information about your local medical network which may help people in your area! Go onto www.twitter.com, register yourself and type away.

Blogging: Doing a lot of research which you think people should here about, or have an opinion which potential patients should here about, blog about it. Many people will find it online as they search for an information panacea for their problem and be happy to come across your blog.

2. Create a mechanism such that people can contact you: For a start, get a practice website. It helps you disseminate information about your services for people looking for the same. It isn’t advertising, it’s a service, people today face many choices and are hampered by lack of information, improving their ability to find information quickly is beneficial to them.

On your website, don’t only talk about you, tell the patients more about what diseases and disabilities you treat, what are the latest treatments, generic advice and maybe even help them going to right person if you weren’t involved.

Use tools like interactive patient forms which can be filled before the patient arrives at the center, saving time and giving you a heads up on the patient’s needs. Use query forms on the website so that people can ask you about their problems, patients their doubts; this gives the feeling to your patients that you are available to them 24/7 without actually being there. Technical Doctor encourages doctors to have their own websites through their initiative http://www.technicaldr.com/tdr/websites-for-doctors. We also offer advice and consulting to help your website create the best impact on your patients and potential clients.

3. Using Software tools: Use softwares which improve communications. Invest in software which doesn’t just keep your records and accounts. The software should come with communications tools integrated and can be used with ease. Emailing of schedules and reports to patients is a must.

The software should also allow using SMSes to send reminders, alerts, prescription reminders etc. This is a new level of service, and patients will be thrilled to know there is always an alert to give them confidence in their moments of doubt.

Online Medical records allow patients to access their records remotely, insist on looking at software which promotes this feature if not today, but at least is compatible with this extension in the future. Technical Doctor provides EMR software products which come coupled with email, SMS and online EMRs. We encourage doctors to use these services to improve their service quality. You can see our products on http://www.technicaldr.com

4. Accessing data and messages on your phone: Today you may be using you phone to send SMSs, read emails and play games online. Why stop there, use it to drive business wherever you are. Neat and simple apps provide you fingertip information, coupled with your own website, or software they can become powerful tools in your hands to handle patients remotely.

Access patient alerts via the phone or your actual software to pull up data remotely. Technical Doctor already has a suite of products and apps which can run on phone browsers.

5. Contribute to journals and medical website online: Numerous sources are present where doctors submit their stories, research and experiences. The medical and patient community will be greatly benefited by your inputs, a little effort online will show you exactly where you should be adding your data.

6. Using new cool online tools to make education interesting: Nowadays making a presentation, cartoon strip or a cartoon movie to help educate your patients or interested clients is easy. Many tools are available online which let you render very interesting collaterals that can help ease patient doubts and also make it fun. Tools like www.bitstrips.com which we use to make cartoons helps in creating awareness in an educational yet informal way. Putting these up on your clinic facebook page or on your website is the best option.

These are just some pointers on how technology can help you as a doctor to interact with patients and also general public looking for information in your areas of expertise. It’s time to exercise your power using technology, so see you out there soon.

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How can Mobile Technology help Healthcare

An estimated 70% of physicians in the United States have either a smartphone or a tablet PC such as an iPad. They are adopting EHRs and are more techno savvy than ever before.  Mobile health provides ease of access and mobility to both physicians and patients and creates a coordinated care culture.  Let’s look at some of the examples available today of Mobile Technology driving Healthcare.

1. Mobile technology can help patients access care for themselves and others.  They can help with making physician appointments and getting alerts to be reminded of them.  Mobile also allow direct to patient alerts to increase adherence of physician instructions, specifically with regards diets, exercises and medications.

2. Mobile Technology helps in easing the delivery of care in the form of tools to better self monitor. Examples are the mobile apps capturing vital sign as also those which monitor various parameters like blood glucose, heart rate, cholesterol, etc.

3. Mobiles help improve the patient provider communications. Simple text messages and phone calls to verify or report a problem or symptom allow a more direct one to one relationship. While many physicians wonder how this helps them, this significantly adds trust in the eyes of a patient.

4. Mobile Technology also helps in easing the delivery of care by providing direct access to medical providers, ancillary services such as home nursing, insurance companies and the patient’s electronic health record portal. 

5. Mobile health Technologies can provide physicians and laboratories with data measured at much shorter intervals than those of typical in clinic patient visits.  This allows collation of data which can be meaningful analyzed for trends.  For e.g. a physician may increase surveillance of blood glucose levels to help manage diabetic patients.

6. Mobile technology allows the patient information, results, trends to be accessible anywhere.  A patients history can be pulled up on demand on a smartphone in the operating room; Patient charts can be viewed and updated on a tablet while walking in the hospital on rounds.

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How Technology Can Improve The Work Life Balance For A Physician

Doctors and healthcare professionals are not strangers to poor work life balance. A very strong culture surrounds this industry that perceives a doctor wishing to lead a healthy personal life as a sign of weakness. 

It is not uncommon to see doctors resign to the demands of the job and the medical culture system, leading to unhealthy suppression of their personal goals and requirements. No doubt that for some medical professionals, the passion for work overrides the stress and the burning out, but for others, constantly trying to cope with the unwritten but powerful psychological contract of “if you cannot work 18 hours a day and seven days a week, you don’t belong here” can be very overwhelming.

It’s usually only a matter of time until physicians begin to deal with ill health, depression, reduced efficiency and quality of work, lack of focus, fatigue-related medical errors, struggling personal and professional relationships and severe job dissatisfaction to the extent that many end up reconsidering their decision of being in the medical profession submitting to “maybe I’m not wired for this!”

Yes, there are caps on the number of duty hours for doctors. However, the increasing influence of consumerism on the national healthcare system and the growing demands of federal policies call in for greater accountability, increased bureaucracy and a ton of paperwork and administrative chores left to be performed by physicians themselves. This corporatization of work structure compels them to digress from their primary job of providing healthcare to completing clerical and managerial work that now ends up taking the best of their time and productivity, defeating the very idea of Meaningful Work.

In such a situation and keeping in mind the perfectionists that doctors are, one way for them to strike a healthy work life balance without compromising on their productivity or performance would be to focus the best part of their energy and work day on their actual job – that of being good clinicians and reduce the amount of time, effort and personal attention they put into peripherals like paperwork, clinic management and other administrative functions. 

This article aims to suggest help on how physicians may save time on these subordinate activities by using technological tools that will enable them to complete the same tasks quickly and efficiently, leaving them more personal time and a better organized work day.

7 Must-Use Technological Tools for Physicians

1.) Email

Physicians must leverage the power of this simple tool to reach out and connect to their patients without having to extend their workday. Communicating via email can be less intrusive and time consuming as opposed to personal telephone calls as it allows for multitasking, automation, bulk mailing and standardization of regularly used content.

Appointment reminders, medication alarms, direction maps and instructions can be sent out to patients through an automated, pre-programmed system that monitors all your email communication.

2.) Medical Website

In a world where people turn to the Internet for nearly everything, having a web presence not only helps you reach out to a global audience but is also a time saver for functions like briefing new patients about your practice, answering FAQs, providing critical information, clinic details, directions and patient support. For physicians looking to set up a website, a good place to begin would be http://www.websitesordoctors.in

3.) Spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel

If you haven’t already discovered the treasures of Ms Excel and still go the old pen and paper way to record your administrative activities, insurance, tax, bank and financial details, stocks, inventories and everything that makes up your practice, you are missing out on a tool that can transform your work day and save you a ton of time and trouble. Ms Excel is simple to learn, easy to use and will spoil you for convenience once you’re in the habit of using it. For free online training in Ms Excel, visit http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/CH010369467.aspx.

4.) PDAs and Smartphones 

A personal digital or data assistant (PDA) can be used to save all your information paperlessly, in one single place. This information is portable and can be made available on your laptop, phone and other devices. PDAs can be used to store patient contacts, records, medical and other information, drug databases, crucial spontaneous notes, treatment information etc. E-books, medical databases, research and information can also be stored and accessed. You can use them to schedule your day, post reminders for important tasks and have all the information you need in the palm of your hand whenever you need it.

5.) Medical Software such as an Electronic Medical Record(EMR)

EMRs collect and consolidate all patient information into a single integrated system that can be accessed at the click of a mouse. Without having to look through heaps of paper files, EMRs allow for quick and convenient access to the patient's medical history, list of medications, drug allergies, test results and information, helping physicians make faster, accurate and more informed medical decisions, diagnoses and treatments. They also enable instant and simultaneous EMR sharing with other care providers, saving on a whole lot of time that would otherwise be spent in viewing, reviewing and communicating results with other practitioners.

6.) Smartphones/Tablet PCs 

Smartphones are poised to be the next big thing in Healthcare IT. The power of portable information and being connected on the go is sure to lend physicians greater autonomy and flexibility of work schedules. Smartphones and tablets can be synchronized with your office and home computers, PDAs etc and can be used to access this and other medical information from any place in the world. You can effectively use them to do your day’s reading or wrap up pending documentation and record work while commuting or even at home. A good article on using smartphones to improve your practice can be read at http://emrmeaningfuluse.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-can-smartphone-help-you-in-your.html

7.) Videoconferencing and Tele-consultations

Physicians can use videoconferencing tools like Skype to provide tele-consultations to patients based in remote locations. They can also carry out pre-appointment screenings, post-appointment follow ups and monitoring from home, saving themselves and their patients commuting time and making for a shorter work day. To learn more about videoconferencing and Skype, visit http://emrmeaningfuluse.blogspot.com/2011/09/using-skype-to-help-your-practice.html

These technological tools can be used to reduce the time and effort spent on administrative functions (and certain clinical functions too!). If a routine break up of your day is say 70% of seeing patients and 30% of filing paperwork and records, you can use these tools to work on bringing down the 30% average or even taking it home (easier for solo practitioners) as all the information is digitally available to you, wherever (and whenever) you choose to use it. 

Yes, taking work home is a debatable idea for many families but for physicians, it is really a case of being home at a good hour at least physically vs not being there at all. The trick here is to not get into a habit of “staying connected” all the time, using technology to only accomplish what is required for the day and switch off once you’re done.

References:

1.) http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2010/06/11/technology-helps-worklife-balance-it%E2%80%99s-official/

2.) http://ask.officelive.com/smallbusiness/wiki/articles/technology-tips-for-improving-your-work-life-balance.aspx

3.) http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/bmj.333.7558.s15.xml

4.) http://www.support4doctors.org/detail.php/58/managing-stress-as-a-doctor?category_id=15

5.) http://www.support4doctors.org/detail.php/46/time-management-the-five-mistakes-doctors-make?category_id=15&subcategory_id=507

6.) http://www.smartmanager.us/eprise/main/web/us/hr_manager/document_center/technology_worklifebalance_june09.pdf

7.) http://dsc.discovery.com/energy/lifestyle/ways-technology-is-making-life-easier-02.html

8.) http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/468131_2

9.) http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=2576

10.) http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/5-strategies-for-life-balance?page=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%202

11.) http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/01/04/bisa0104.htm

12.) http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/08/03/prsb0803.htm

13.) http://www.aafp.org/fpm/2000/0200/p60.html

14.) http://sagemb.com/info-resources/doctors-help/creating-worklife-balance

15.) http://ama.com.au/node/2998

16.) http://healthecommunications.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/lack-of-time-and-reimbursement-is-that-why-physicians-dont-do-a-better-job-communicating-with-patients/

17.) http://www.physicianstaffing.com/job_opportunities/improving_your_lifestyle

18.) http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/08/new_doctors_have_shorter_hours.html

19.) http://technology4doctors.blogspot.com/2011/02/emrs-providing-indian-doctors-with-edge.html

20.) http://www.locumtenens.com/physician-recruitment/supporting-work-life-balance.aspx

21.) http://www.europeanpwn.net/index.php?article_id=120

22.) http://www.worklifebalance.com/assets/pdfs/casestudy.pdf

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What Is Telemedicine?

The American Telemedicine Association defines Telemedicine as "the use of medical information exchanged from one site to another via electronic communications to improve patients' health status."

The term "telehealth", "e-health" and "telemedicine" are often used interchangeably, the difference being that telemedicine involves using information technology primarily for the delivery of clinical services while telehealth and e-health also include the provision of non-clinical healthcare services like tele-education and tele-training for continuing medical education, practice management, research and administration.

Telemedicine is practiced when medical services like health consultations, diagnoses, procedures, patient report analysis, monitoring and so on, are electronically provided by practitioners to patients based in remote locations using telemedicine technology and equipment.

Types of Telemedicine

There are three primary types of telemedicine – Store and Forward, Remote Monitoring and Two-way Real-time Telemedicine.

Store and Forward Telemedicine includes healthcare services for non-emergency situations that can be provided offline, without requiring the presence of the provider and the patient at the same time. It involves the remote patient passing on his medical data like medical history, EMR, scans, reports, past diagnoses etc to the provider who assesses his health status based on the given information and reverts accordingly without carrying out a personal, real-time examination of the patient.

Remote Monitoring includes a telemedical facility actively monitoring patients over remote locations using telemedicine equipment and devices. It is an effective way of monitoring vital signs like ECGs, blood glucose levels, respiratory rates etc for volatile health issues like cardiovascular diseases, asthma and diabetes that require constant care and vigilance.

Two-way Real-time Telemedicine provides consultations, diagnosis and treatment over real-time videoconferencing, live transmission of diagnostic images/videos, phone conversations and other synchronous interactive telemedicine technology where the practitioner and patient remotely connect and interact with each other at a given time with a local doctor as an intermediary.

Besides these, some facilities also provide emergency telemedicine and disaster restoration tele-support services.

Benefits of Telemedicine

Telemedicine services aim to replace or at least equal traditional clinic visits, face-to-face consultations and visiting nurses, save costs and provide better care in locations where the quality of healthcare is not up to the mark. So far, around 50 medical subspecialties have adopted telemedicine with radiology turning out to be a heavy user. Teleradiology is widely used to electronically transmit x-rays, CT scans and other images to remote providers for evaluation and assessment.

Other branches that have resorted to telemedicine to improve their quality, reach and accessibility are dermatology, ophthalmology, psychiatry, cardiology and pathology.

Telemedicine technology allows patients to avail of quality consultations, monitoring, electronic housecalls, testing, diagnosis and treatments from remote locations that may lack the required medical services, connecting patients and practitioners via an integrated, global healthcare system. With telemedicine, practitioners can provide improved diagnoses and better treatments due to comprehensive digital data that is available to them offline and over the web. Follow-ups and monitoring patients becomes easier and more efficient owing to automated active monitoring devices that provide continual and constant connectivity between the two parties. As for patients in remote or under-served areas, telemedicine gives them access to world-class medical services without having to travel or shift base. This not only helps them gain valuable medical advice and treatment from top medical specialists but also saves on their travel expenses, unnecessary hospital visits and in many cases, cost of medicines and expensive health facilities.

Equipment and Facilities Required for Telemedicine

A successful telemedicine program requires specialized telemedicine equipment and facilities. For seamless and uninterrupted delivery of remote medical services, medical devices, peripherals and software solutions supported by expert telemedicine professionals, customer care personnel and training staff must be incorporated within a compatible system that functions according to an effective, tested workflow model.

The following facilities and equipment are usually needed to provide telemedicine services:

- Tele-consultation rooms

- Patient engagement facilities like beds, scopes etc

- Desktops/ Laptops/ Tablet PCs

- Internet Connectivity and Broadband Devices, Routers

- Printer

- Film Scanner

- Digital Camera

- Video Conferencing Kit

- Specialized Tele medicine software for your subspecialty

- Non-invasive pulse and blood pressure unit

- Digital ECG

- Digital Microscope

- Glucometer and Haemogram analyzer

- Mobile vans (in case of mobile or emergency telemedicine centres and ambulatory care sites)

Telemedicine Delivery Channels

Telemedicine services can be provided over four main channels:

1. Point-to-point telemedicine where patients and providers (hospitals, clinics) are connected over private networks directly or through an independent practitioner as an intermediary.

2. Patient is connected to a specialty care provider through tele-videoconferencing for a real time consultation over a home connection.

3. Active tele-monitoring for housebound patients over specialized tele-monitoring systems.

4. Direct web-based telemedicine services and patient-care.

Telemedicine Support in the USA

Despite its numerous benefits, telemedicine has a long way to go before it finds a viable place in the country’s mainstream medical system. The government supports the adoption of telemedicine with a number of incentives and federal grants. The American Telemedicine Association provides more information on federal funding for telemedicine at http://www.americantelemed.org/

References:

1. http://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/tutorial/FAQ-What-is-telemedicine-technology-and-how-can-it-save-money

2. http://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/news/2240022617/Despite-barriers-telemedicine-services-poised-to-change-care-delivery

3. http://www.amdtelemedicine.com/telemedicine-resources/telemedicine-technology.html

4. http://www.lhncbc.nlm.nih.gov/lhc/docs/published/2002/pub2002049.pdf

5. http://www.telemedicinesystems.com/

6. http://www.emory.edu/BUSINESS/et/telemed/

7. http://www.lifesize.com/Industry_Solutions/Healthcare_Solutions/Telemedicine_in_HD.aspx

8. http://www.librestream.com/industries/telemedicine.html

9. http://www.amdtelemedicine.com/corporate/medical-devices.html

10. http://www.americantelemed.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3333

11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telemedicine

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How Can A Smartphone Help You In Your Practice?

75% of American doctors own smartphones and over 95% of them use smartphone healthcare applications in their practice. As a growing number of medical schools and health facilities make it mandatory for students and practitioners to actively use smartphones in their practice, the wireless health market is positioned to grow exponentially in the coming years. Latest smartphone advances in technology and medical applications have provided doctors the opportunity to bring about improvements in almost every function of their practice.

Using Smartphones To Improve Your Practice

Using a smartphone in your practice can help improve its efficiency and productivity in ways more tangible than perceived. These ergonomic, portable devices provide wireless web access and ingenious medical applications that offer limitless possibilities in the hands of a skilled user. For starters, doctors can carry a whole world of medical research, updated real-time information and databases in their pockets, allowing for complete point of care accessibility. 

Apart from providing crucial medical information, smartphones perform a number of administrative and medical functions that can change the way medicine is practiced. On the administrative side, smartphones can be used to maintain calendars, appointments, patients schedules and these can be synchronized with multiple devices like  home and office laptops, tablets and other workstations, making all the information available to you as one simplified, integrated database. Smartphones can work with emails, can be used for emergency notes, memos and patient records, automated appointment and medication reminders, e-prescribing, drug management, billing and policy information and prescription drug references. They are intelligent devices that allow doctors to view and scrutinize medical images, ultrasound scans and ECG reports. Lab orders and results can also be reviewed wherever you are, using your smartphone. 

A growing number of practitioners are connecting with their patients using social media and other interactive web-based apps. These tools typically require a dynamic, on-the-go approach which is possible only via portable devices with inbuilt web access and smartphones fit the bill perfectly. Smartphones are also poised to be smart health monitors that use smart sensors and smart bandages to monitor patients, communicating the relevant data to practitioners through health monitoring apps. Patients and doctors can both receive indicators and warnings on their health dashboards based on the reports of this active monitoring model.

Smartphones can help healthcare professionals manage their day in the field to route patient calls, send instant patient reports and generate bills at the point of care. In fact, telemedicine is now using the NFC or near-field communication technology in smartphones to completely go wireless. This technology uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) that allows patients to pay for healthcare with a swipe of their smartphones.

Mobile Medicine - Smartphone Healthcare Applications

The main advantage that smartphones hold over regular mobile phones is the availability of useful and cutting edge healthcare applications. With over 17,000 medical apps available in the market, we put together a list of apps that are most popular with healthcare professionals of varied interests and specializations. Many of them are free to download (with paid premium versions available) and can be used on the iPhone, Blackberry, Windows, Palm and Android operating systems. Users must check the compatibility of the applications with their smartphone operating systems before downloading.

Application	Features	Platforms Supported
PubMed On Tap	Gives you access to the National Library of Medicine and MEDLINE® citations.	iPhone
ePocrates	Information on drugs and drug interactions, helps you identify pills using pictures and descriptions, features a well-received medical calculator called MedMath.	iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm
DynaMed	A clinical reference database containing more than 3,200 evidence-based clinical summaries that are updated daily and intended for use primarily at the point-of-care.	iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm, Windows
UpToDate	A clinical decision support system that includes access to over 8,500 topics in 17 specialties. Combines detailed medical information, expert opinions and recommendations.	iPhone, Blackberry
Skyskape’s RxDrugs	Provides updated dosing guidelines on medications, contains weight-based drug dosing calculators and informative monographs.	iPhone, Android, Blackberry
Taber’s Medical Dictionary	Contains over 60,000 terms, 1,000 photos, and more than 600 Patient Care Statements, in-depth definitions, nutrition and alternative therapy coverage, medical abbreviations, symbols and units of measurement, immunization schedules, nursing diagnoses, links to pronunciations.	iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Windows
Clinical Consult	Diagnosis, treatment, medications, follow-up of most common medical conditions. Drug therapy information, alternative medicines and evidence-based drug information provided.	iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm, Windows
First Consult	Gives you evidence-based answers to clinical questions.	iPhone
Diagnosauras	Helps in differential diagnosis with access to over 1,000 diagnoses by organ system, symptom and disease.	iPhone
Netter’s Anatomy	Provides anatomical illustrations from Netter’s bestselling Atlas of Human Anatomy .	iPhone
MedCalc	Gives you easy access to complicated medical formulas, scores, scales and classifications.	iPhone
mobileMicromedex	Information on drugs, interactions, diseases, lab, alternative medicines, toxicology, news and alerts, convenient calculators.	Windows, Palm Blackberry, iPhone (not on standard download)
Brain Tutor	Contains information on functions and structure of parts of the brain for students and medical professionals. It allows you to explore 3D models of the head and brain in real-time.	iPhone
Medscape	Includes drug reference, interaction checker, disease/condition reference and treatment guide, procedures reference, tables and protocols reference, daily medical news and alerts, continuing medical education activities, physician-pharmacy-hospital directories, offline access to clinical reference.	iPhone, Android, Blackberry
Wikipedia Mobile	Helps you view Wikipedia articles on your smartphone.	iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm, Windows

Smartphones mean that you’re carrying large volumes of crucial confidential information in a fragile device. Hence, the FDA has stepped in to regulate the information that you can upload and transmit over certain apps for data security and safety purposes. Hence, users must keep informed about FDA regulations that apply to medical smartphone applications.

References

1. http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/1/117.full
2. http://drottematic.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/using-smartphones-in-medicine-practical-examples/
3. http://www.firstwordplus.com/FWD0430510.do
4. http://www.pcworld.com/article/236011/fda_plans_to_regulate_smartphone_apps.html
5. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-for-tomorrow/health-care-eyes-smart-phones-to-heal-ills/article1288140/
6. http://www.blackberrypartnersfund.com/blogs/bbfundblog/smartphonesandhealthcare
7. http://hitexchangemedia.com/articles/mayjune-2011/smartphones-could-become-mobile-nurses-and-labs-in-the-future/
8. http://digital-medicine.posterous.com/doctors-leaning-towards-e-detailing-and-table
9. http://www.bluelinerny.com/blog/world/smartphones-future-of-medicine.php
10. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20690190
11. http://blogs.ubc.ca/dean/2011/02/smartphones-in-medicine-let-me-count-the-ways/
12. http://digital-medicine.posterous.com/using-smartphones-to-share-ecgs-with-your-doc
13. http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/14109.aspx
14. http://www.medschool.vcu.edu/technology/ed_tech/smartphones.html
15. http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/medical/smartphone-survey-results-1073009/#ixzz1VPd7ILCW
16. http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php
17. http://itunes.apple.com
18. http://www.uptodate.com/home/about/toc.html
19. http://www.skyscape.com/estore/productdetail.aspx?productid=1093
20. http://thinkanatomy.com/2008/10/netters-anatomy-iphone-app/

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