Five recommended FDA approved healthcare apps for physicians

At a recently concluded HealthCare meetup in Bangalore, we clearly witnessed how Mobility is changing the way of life in HealthCare space. What is really critical when it comes to Healthcare for physicians is Mobility and Speed. It is really important to be able to make a diagnosis on a patient in real time. The mobile healthcare apps bring successful combination of healthcare and mobile technology. They are mainly classified into connected medical devices and healthcare applications. Mobile health apps industry today has been growing rapidly and is expected to make revenues in billions by 2016. They act as accessories to regulated medical devices, and transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device. The best part included these apps being easily accessible, downloadable, cheaper and widely available for patients and physicians and have the potential to transform healthcare.

Let`s look at some of the most widely used and recommended apps by physicians for diagnosis:

AliveCor

AliveCor's FDA-cleared Heart Monitor & AliveECG app for the android® is for use by medical professionals and patients to record and review single-channel electrocardiogram (ECG) rhythm strips.This app requires the AliveCor Heart Monitor device that attaches to your mobile phone for taking ECG recordings. AliveCor turns your smartphone into an electrocardiogram by snapping onto the back of any iPhone. Now you can record your ECG in seconds. Just start the app and place your fingers on the metal sensors. To take cardiac measurements, the user presses the device against the skin found near the heart. The device has received much recognition for its mobility and the anticipation of its capability to catch irregular heart rhythms earlier.

Price: Free

Compatibility: iPhone, android

Medscape 

One of the highest rated free medical app for healthcare professionals worldwide. Medscape Mobile provides the most comprehensive set of tools to support clinicians with all of their professional needs. Medscape acts like a clinical reference point for drug reference, drug interaction checker, medical calculators, disease and condition reference, medical news and more. The Medscape app is the highest rated, fastest growing free mobile app for healthcare professionals with over four million registered users.

Price: Free

Compatibility: iPhone, android

Visual DX

Visual DX is a support and reference tool for physicians and includes 1,200+ diagnoses and 25,000+ medical images to aid diagnosis and therapeutic decisions.Logical Images’ Visual DX has more than 90,000 peer-reviewed digital medical library of images. All ages, skin types and disease variations, based on severity and stage, are represented. Over 1,500 hospitals and clinics use Visual DX to aid diagnostic accuracy, enhance medical education, and improve patient outcomes.

Price: Free with Visual DX subscription

Compatibility: android, iPhone

BlueStar by WellDoc BlueStar makes living with diabetes easier. Unlike other apps which help you just track your glucose level, BlueStar offers automated clinical coaching and behavioural algorithms driven by real-time patient data. The software-based system supports patients and enables healthcare professionals to configure specific parameters and extend their care beyond traditional office visits by utilizing mobile phones and the internet.

Price: Free

Compatibility: android, iPhone

ResolutionMD

ResolutionMD™ Mobile is the medical viewing app, enabling instant access to radiology diagnostic images and reports from mobile devices. ResolutionMD enables doctors to securely view patient images from a wide array of mobile devices, collaborate with other practitioners and produce high quality medical diagnosis from any location in real time. It allows you to share images interactively with other practitioners anytime, anywhere. In addition, it provides a - “Related Studies” - query to quickly recall a patient’s entire image history.In a recent study, it was identified that ResolutionMD could diagnose strokes 24% faster, saving 11 minutes per patient. Note: This product requires access to a configured ResolutionMD Server.Price: Free

Compatibility: iPhone, android

Stay tuned as we bring more info on the apps and tools that are disrupting different sectors. Do tell us if you know of any interesting health apps you want us to review. Write to us at [email protected]