Apple iPhone3GS for physicians

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Contents

Introduction

See also Medical sites for mobiles and Wireless new2.gif

Few mobile technologies have captured the imagination of Internet users quite like the iPhone. Even though Apple Inc. released the 3GS in June 2009 (a vastly improved 3G), the new 3GS impresses the most diehard mobile users and critics alike.

In medicine, physicians, medical students and faculty of all kinds are moving to the iPhone for added convenience and functionality over other mobiles. Many early adopters say that the iPhone is absolutely key to the future of medical practice. (See Smartphones Becoming Integral Tools for Health Care Providers, Medical Students).

For information about the 3Gs in Canada, see http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/. Reports from those who have the 3GS say it transforms their experience of the web.

New Apple iPhone 3GS features

iphone3gs1.jpg Apple's iPhone3Gs has some great features: new2.gif

  1. Fastest iPhone ever (See specifications) with 32G storage and voice control
  2. Improved voicemail, widescreen ipod/ivod capability, Apple's legendary 'pinch technology and a simple, sculpted design
  3. An improved camera, which now has 3.2 megapixels and autofocus; handset records videos at 30 frames-per-second, which can be edited and uploaded to YouTube with one click.
  4. A 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) touchscreen/'sensing' interface that repels dirt and oil (oleophobic)
  5. The browser buttons are small, but basic controls are impressive.
  6. The screens display all major functions as a set of widgets you tap. Sort through digital music by tapping and flipping through CD cases with a swish ("pinching") of the thumb/index finger.
  7. The iPhone 3GS is an iPod with speakers. Photo software is better and video has 17 hours' storage capacity.
  8. iPhone 3GS performs faster than its predecessor. It is smooth and touchable with a nice heft without being heavy.

Medical applications for iPhone

See also Neal H. Best Medical iPhone Apps for Doctors and Med Students. Software Advice blog. October 7th, 2009 new2.gif

As its many applications are assessed by physicians, health librarians should take steps to evaluate the iPhone 3GS as an integral part of evidence-based health care. For one example, the free, widely-used drug reference source Epocrates (see website) is available for the iPhone. Many applications, like Epocrates, have both free versions and paid versions with extra features. Many medical applications, because of the sensitive or complex nature of the service provided must be purchased. For more information on the types of things available, see Ten (10) Must-See iPhone Apps for Doctors and Patients.

Following are some ideas for popular or useful iPhone apps, and the iTunes App Store is notoriously difficult for discovering new applications. If you would like to explore apps on your own, you can try searching on Uquery, an application-only search engine!

Free Medical iPhone Apps

View the most popular free medical apps here: Top 50 Free iPhone apps from iTunes (iTunes).

Paid iPhone Apps

View the most popular paid medical apps online here: Top 50 Free iPhone apps (iTunes).

Mobile Web Sites

Mobile web sites aren't applications written specifically for your iPhone, but they are versions of sites you know, optimized for use on your mobile phone.

Other Resources

  • DynaMed is accessible from the iPhone, using the Skyscape App and your DynaMed serial number.

Special thanks to Dr. Daniel Schwartz, Clinical Nephrologist, Fraser Health Renal Program, Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia for these links... (View QXMD apps on UQuery)

See also Yale's Cushing/Whitney Library Mobile site and PDAs, Handhelds and Mobile Technologies in Libraries

Medical schools and medical library websites

A number of American medical schools and medical libraries have started to develop special pared-down, 'optimized' versions of their library websites. (See the Yale site below.) However, more often, medical students and physicians can find resources on their faculty's websites.

See:

The idea with mobile websites is to help users navigate library resources on small screens. In that small content, you should be able to use the iPhone to find books, specific journals or articles in medical libraries with no difficulty.

Some health librarians report that pdfs open on the iPhone but lengthy articles may time out before they are downloaded (this is also observed in loading web pages). Some articles open up in 'html' which may be a more sound option.

iPhone and medical faculty & students doing research

  1. Books and articles should be searchable/findable on the iPhone
  2. Health professionals should be able to determine, if needed, the physical location of library items using the iPhone
  3. Copies of articles to view or print later should be easily sent via email on the iPhone
  4. Abstracts and articles can be shared with colleagues, residents or medical students via email.
  5. College textbooks for your students via the iPhone - http://www.coursesmart.com/iphone
  6. Patient monitoring, x-ray and scan viewing, patient charting, are all coming to the iPhone.

Unbound Medicine & the iPhone

Unbound Medicine (also uCentral) is one of the few medical information tools designed for the iPhone. It places emphasis on current information, and book titles such as the Merck Manual, Harrison's Manual of Medicine and the Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests from McGraw-Hill, 5-Minute Clinical Consult from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, the Red Book® from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Davis's Drug Guide and Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary from F.A. Davis. (See list of titles). Unbound MEDLINE also tracks medical journals and makes it possible to search the 17 million citations in the world's largest biomedical citation database.

Unbound Medicine's customized iPhone interface takes full advantage of the built-in Safari™ web browser to give health professionals quick answers over cellular and WiFi networks. Users navigate intuitively by tapping on index terms or by entering searches into clinician-friendly forms. Cross-links and lists of related content instantly take a clinician from a disease management discussion to a drug monograph for the correct dose, possible interactions, and adverse effects of a recommended medication.

In addition, iPhone3GS and iPod Touch users can use iPhone-optimized Unbound MEDLINE on their WiFi or cell-enabled device by simply going to: http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline (go there with a web browser you'll get the web version).

References

  1. Apple iPhone in Canada web site - http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/
  2. Google news about the 'Apple iPhone' AND medicine
  3. Review: iPhone 3GS lives up to its speedy claims, Ars Technica - http://tinyurl.com/lwu4t6
  4. Playing with iPhone 3GS Video, David Lee King - http://www.davidleeking.com/2009/06/22/playing-with-iphone-3gs-video/
  5. iPhone 3.0 Unlocking Tool Arrives via Ultrasn0w, Lifehacker - http://tinyurl.com/n9k3cn
  6. iMedicalApps.com (formerly iPhone Medical App Review)
  7. iPhone Medicine Blog - http://iphonemedicine.blogspot.com/
  8. Neal H. Best Medical iPhone Apps for Doctors and Med Students. Software Advice blog. October 7th, 2009 new2.gif
  9. Official Google mobile blog
  10. O'Reilly Digital Media's Inside iPhone
  11. Wikipedia entry iPhone.
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