Medical applications for pharmacists using mobile devices.
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Date
2013-07-09
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Mobile devices eg smartphones tablet computers have become ubiquitous and subsequently there has been a growth in mobile applications apps Concurrently mobile devices have been integrated into health care practice due to the availability and quality of medical apps These mobile medical apps offer increased access to clinical references and point of care tools However there has been little identification of mobile medical apps suitable for the practice of pharmacy OBJECTIVE To address the shortage of recommendations of mobile medical apps for pharmacists in daily practice DATA SOURCES Mobile medical apps were identified via the iTunes and Google Play Stores via the Medical app categories and key word searches eg drug information medical calculators In addition reviews provided by professional mobile medical app review websites were used to identify apps STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION Mobile medical apps were included if they had been updated in the previous 3 months were available in the US used evidence based information or literature support had dedicated app support and demonstrated stability Exclusion criteria included apps that were not available in English had advertisement bias used nonreferenced sources were available only via an institution only subscription and were web based portals DATA SYNTHESIS Twenty seven mobile apps were identified and reviewed that involved general pharmacy practice including apps that involved drug references clinical references medical calculators laboratory references news and continuing medical education and productivity CONCLUSIONS Mobile medical apps have a variety of features that are beneficial to pharmacy practice Individual clinicians should consider several characteristics of these apps to determine which are suitable to incorporate into their daily practice
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Provider training and education, Internet