But since it was developed by lab company Crescendo Bioscience, “There may be some bias issues in recommending it to patients,” he says. “Many organizations have a zero-tolerance policy toward industry-sponsored products.”
3D4 medical apps (mostly $9.99; for iPhone and iPad, with some options available on Android): This slate of anatomy apps offers high-resolution views of the human body, with animated videos on disease states. The app allows users to slide their finger across, say, an image of a hand, then see a corresponding, cross-section view. Users can label the images and test their anatomy knowledge, as well.
Options include Hand and Wrist Pro III, Shoulder Pro II, Knee Pro III, Spine Pro III and many others.
“Anything by 3D4 Medical is essential for point-of-care patient education,” Dr. Bhana says. “The prices are reasonable for such a high-quality product.”
Docphin and Docwise (free; Docphin available on iPhone, iPad and Android; Docwise only on iPad): These apps help doctors keep up with their medical-journal reading—without the medical journals.
They can all be accessed in one place, and users can choose topics and authors to follow.
The app also gives quick access to medical news articles, with Docwise laying out users’ chosen articles in a magazine format.
Dr. Bhana says this is his preferred way to keep up with his medical reading.
“You can get the abstracts of any journal you want,” he says. “If you have journal access you can view the PDFs via the app.”
(Also see Mobile Health Devices May Have Limited Use in Rheumatology.)
Thomas Collins is a freelance medical writer based in Florida.
