Smartphone apps for physicians – growing trends in mobile medicine

Doctors using computers the size of cell phones to help diagnose and prescribe; smartphones that act like computers. What would Hippocrates have to say?

For the medical industry, the explosion on to the market of smartphones, applications and related technologies that take physicians onto the information superhighway and links them to on-demand knowledge is nothing short of revolutionary.

And yet while there are still some late adopters, such as hospitals with electronic health record security concerns, it seems that the industry has embraced smartphones and all their potentiality. According to some industry experts, the wireless health market is expected to rise to $9.6 billion within two years, up from $2.7 billion from 2007.

At point-of-care, the numbers are just as impressive: By 2012, physicians with smartphone usage is expected to top 80 percent, while of those who already have them, 95 percent are using downloaded apps like Epocrates, Medscape and Skyscape, according to research. What’s more, smartphone apps are actually changing the way physicians use technology, with 52 percent seeking out medical information several times daily compared to 37 percent of computer users.

As technology evolves and transforms smartphones into medical devices, it begs the question: Which are the leading apps and how are they affecting medical practice?

In Trends in Mobile Medicine: Smartphone Apps for Physicians, FirstWord takes on the constantly evolving world of smartphone apps to discover how they’re affecting healthcare providers and their prescribing habits, who amongst physician groups and hospitals are early adopters and how mobile apps are impacting emerging markets. In the tightly-written and compelling 60-page dossier, FirstWord expertly propels the reader through the key developments, the ten most popular apps, their attractions and their drawbacks.