Here is a roundup of some of the best medical apps we loved and found useful during the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year — in no particular order.
Happy downloading and stay safe!
COVID Protocols: The Brigham Hospital’s Approach to COVID
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital released a comprehensive app of all of their COVID-19 protocols. This app joins a growing list of guidelines and protocols from Johns Hopkins (via the Relief Central and Hopkins ABX Guide apps), WHO, Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and others.
MyDirectives Mobile App: Create and Bring Advanced Directives Anywhere
MyDirectives.com first launched its companion app for iOS in 2015. Their website and app can be used separately, but ideally, they should be used together. The website discusses the goals of “create, update, and share.” The app allows the user to digitally sign the plan; make a video of your wishes; use photos and videos to confirm your identity; share the Advance Care plan with others via email, text, and QR reader; and show on the iPhone lock screen!
The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) just released management guidelines. This app walks you through the guidelines based on your patients’ current/past data and provides recommendations for follow-up, as well as a risk estimate for cervical cancer that is individualized to that particular patient.
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) Immunization Healthcare Division has just released the ninth edition of their popular Immunization Toolkit in 2020 — the first time it has been available as a POC app. The app contains the current immunization recommendations from the ACIP/CDC and military vaccine schedules, and works more like a textbook/quick reference guide as it is divided into numerous sections with subsections covering risk management, vaccines, injections, adult and military immunizations, vaccine storage and handling, and pediatric immunizations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Academy
The WHO Academy app permits free access to all of the WHO’s COVID-19 resources in one place. The app is designed for healthcare workers and provides the most current guidance on all things COVID-19, along with webinars and educational workshops.
Unbound Medicine’s Relief Central
The excellent Relief Central app from Unbound Medicine has been updated to include a new section called “Coronavirus Guidelines.” The new section on coronavirus is perfectly timed and brings expert and evidence-based content from the CDC, WHO, and the Hopkins’ team of experts together in one app. The complete Relief Central app is free and includes a number of resources for aid/relief workers.
This past year, the ACGME launched their AWARE campaign to better aid programs and their trainees to improve well-being. The AWARE initiative includes a comprehensive wellness curriculum for programs and institutions to implement for trainees with a mobile app component. The ACGME AWARE app includes an educational video series with educational sections, including details on how to perform these evidence-based techniques and links to additional resources and references.
Pneumonia remains one of the most common causes of death from infectious disease both in the United States and worldwide. For years, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) have issued joint guidelines for the treatment of pneumonia. Additionally, the IDSA has published treatment guidelines for pediatric pneumonia.
The American College of Radiology (ACR) has published numerous guidelines on proper imaging and has a dedicated website for their Appropriateness Criteria (AC). These criteria are available free of charge to non-members, but can be daunting to navigate via mobile device. No true dedicated ACR app exists for the AC. Previously, we had favorably reviewed the web app Rads Consult and it has become my go-to rads app while in the clinic or on the wards. The authors of Rads Consult have returned with a native app for iOS and Android. It is as amazing as the web app — fast, flawless, with much-needed information.
VA/National Center for PTSD Outstanding Couples Coach App
This app joins the VA mobile apps’ ever-growing stable of fantastic point-of-care and prescribable apps. Although the app contains expert opinion and evidence for couples with a PTSD member, the app is really designed to be used for any relationship with or without a mental health component.
This post appeared on iMedicalApps.com