Dr. Sydney Burwell, Dean of Harvard Medical School 1956

My students are dismayed when I say to them "Half of what you are taught as medical students will in 10 years have been shown to be wrong.
And the trouble is, none of your teachers know which half."



Wednesday, February 12, 2014

eMedicine/Devices/Procedures

Top 10 iPhone medical apps released in January
Our research team at iMedicalApps has gone through the hundreds of medical applications that were released for the iPhone in January 2014 and we have found 20 apps our readers should know about. I have used each of these applications in the past few weeks. Based on my experiences with them, I divided the apps into two categories, my favorite top 10, and then an honorable mentions category. There were clearly ten medical applications that stood out, while the other ten still deserve a look. iMedicalApps

The Alcohoot plugs into iPhone so you can measure your blood alcohol level
The Alcohoot is a breathalyzer for smartphones. Much like traditional breathalyzers also available to consumers, it helps those who drink monitor their blood alcohol levels. They are, however, quite controversial particularly among healthcare professionals. Proponents argue that they can promote more responsible behaviors and perhaps be used as a platform to curb excessive alcohol use. Opponents note a range of unintended consequences that could pose significant risks and provide a false sense of security to users. iMedicalApps

AliveCor ECG is approved for over the counter sales
Overall, the availability of this device over the counter is in all likelihood a double edged sword. Innovative users may, for example, help discover or develop novel applications for this technology that have meaningful benefits. For others, the availability of the device over the counter may drive over-testing or increased healthcare utilization driven by device artifact or benign findings (think “nonspecific ST-T wave change”).  iMedicalApps

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