Get Me A Mobile Phone, Stat!
Both Nokia and Apple have realised the importance of a convenient mobile device for the medial profession, with the opportunity to be a genuine aid in tough situations.
The iPhone App Store has plenty of software for budding Doogie Howsers, from a pocket reference guide of anatomical and musculoskeletal flashcards to a mobile Electronic Medical Record to keep track of whether it was Mr. Jones or Mrs. Smith with gout.
The Netter Guides from Modality give students the chance to get shot of those 1000-plus page dusty tomes, allowing close study of physiology to be done anywhere. Flicking through bone and sinew, pinching and twisting blood vessel images on the iPhone screen, the active nature of navigation and the quiz and study functions makes this app invaluable to medical students.
iChart EMR, on the other hand, turns your iPhone into a digital assistant, allowing medical staff to manage 
patient history on their iPhone. Designed with help from doctors, the software allows the administering of prescriptions, writing up operating procedures, organising lab tests, and all the data can be synced back to the PC for writing up official reports. Just what a 21st Century doc needs to move toward a paperless hospital.
Of course, doctors and patients would have no idea what you were tapping away on the iPhone. Could be updating your Facebook status, Wi-Fi Texas Holdem with Dr. Kostner and Fred in Accounts…
Super Monkey Ball in your white coat and stethoscope to unwind after a tough day, and everyone would think you were deep in medical diagnosis. All you would need to do is play it with a furrowed brow and concerned expression. Pretty much the same expression as normal, that game is annoying.
These apps are admittedly great, but come with price tags to match. The Netter Guides, of which there are three, cost £23.99 each. iChart is easily the most practical as well as expensive item on the entire App Store, at £79.99. Also, some are unhappy with the amount of “ER” terminology in this software, with very little thought gone into British convention and protocol. Ouch. But I guess they are going to be doctors if they aren’t already. They’re good for the money.
As for the future of mobile medicine, Nokia has made steps to involve the mobile telephone in the diagnosis of illnesses in remote or developing areas of the world. Electric Pig reports that Nokia’s R&D have already been doing research on methods of transmitting important medical information to a handset, allowing otherwise unskilled bystanders to perform first aid that could save lives.
Even with a detailed set of Netter notes on an iPhone, performing complex and potentially harmful body poking at the scene of an accident may not be the best course of action. Can mobile phones help or hinder the work of medical professionals? Finishing Trauma Center on the DS does not a surgeon make…trust us, we learnt the messy way.
Its really nice to know about the mobile phone news.Electronic medical records are so helpful for the patients to be careful without any files to handle.