August 6th, 2011 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in News
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The explosive growth of medical applications for smartphones, launched by the debut of the innovative Apple iTunes App store in 2008, promises to fundamentally change the physician’s tool set. While many specialties have always been heavily dependent on technology, such as radiology and cardiology, the ubiquity of these small, interconnected computers means that every physician will soon have access to a broad array of software and hardware to help them perform their daily work.
At iMedicalApps.com, we have been reviewing the most interesting medical apps on the market today as well as watching for trends in mobile medical technology. The most popular categories thus far have been clinical reference and utility apps. Some of the largest download numbers have been for apps that provide drug and disease reference information, such as the encyclopedic Medscape app, or medical calculators.
However, more targeted apps that are specialty specific are slowly coming on the market. Some early ones, not surprisingly, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
July 23rd, 2011 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in News
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Since the beginning of this year, there have been clues that the FDA will be heading toward clarification of the complex regulatory issues posed by mobile health devices and software. We have previously reported on testimony and public comments by Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) alluding to coming guidelines.
Today, the FDA finally released a detailed draft guidance of how it intends to regulate this rapidly exploding sector of mobile medical devices and software.
This is what the Emergo group, regulatory compliance consultants, has gleaned from today’s FDA press release: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
June 7th, 2011 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in Health Policy, News
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In a nod to the reality of rapid physician adoption of tablets and smartphones, the CIO of the VA system recently stated that the VA must find a way to accommodate iPads at a conference on federal information technology.
According to Baker, the fact is that 100,000 residents rotate through the VA each year and “they’re all carrying mobile devices”. In order for them to do their jobs, they want to be able to access resources on the internet.
In an article published at nextgov.com, CIO Roger Baker said:
I’ve told my folks I don’t want to say ‘no’ to those devices anymore…I want to know how I say yes.
The key, according to Baker, is security. While the iPad can be secured, proper protocols need to be developed. Otherwise, the device can be likened to a “huge unencrypted USB stick with no pin”. In order to facilitate development of security protocols, a pilot program has been launched giving out iPads to select employees in situations where security is looser. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
April 5th, 2011 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in News
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We have reported in the past on AirStrip, a smartphone and iPad app that allows a mobile doctor to monitor the vital signs of patients in an obstetric ward or an ICU. The reverse, where a fixed doctor monitors multiple remote patients is now entering the mainstream and already making a difference in many patients’ lives.
In a compelling anecdote recently reported in Computerworld, a man experienced cardiac arrest while shopping and was taken to a nearby community hospital. An intensivist, monitoring from an eICU miles away, was immediately consulted. The remote doctor guided the treating physicians as they initiated unfamiliar hypothermia therapy to preserve the brain, and continued to follow the patient remotely throughout his 10 day ICU stay. Happily, the patient had a good outcome and is quoted in the article as an enthusiastic proponent of eICUs. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
March 17th, 2011 by Felasfa Wodajo, M.D. in News
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The regulatory status of medical apps, i.e mobile medical software, has been in limbo for some time now while observers have been watching the FDA for clues as to what role it will play. Clearly, some apps do play a role in guiding physicians in making diagnoses or making treatment decisions. Others simply provide information that would otherwise be available in textbooks or online.
What the FDA will consider a medical device or not has been an important topic, with many clues that it will consider its provenance broadly, as we have reported previously. As of now, only a few medical apps have been granted FDA approval, including AirStrip and MobileMIM.
According to the medical device consulting firm Emergo, the FDA said conclusively that they will be starting regulatory review of medical apps starting in 2011 at the recent FDA townhall meeting on March 10: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at iMedicalApps*
The explosive growth of medical applications for smartphones, launched by the debut of the innovative Apple iTunes App store in 2008, promises to fundamentally change the physician’s tool set. While many specialties have always been heavily dependent on technology, such as radiology and cardiology, the ubiquity of these small, interconnected computers means that every physician will soon have access to a broad array of software and hardware to help them perform their daily work.
