mHealth applications for nurses

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (2018) supports “the development of mobile health applications (apps) that improve health care and provide consumers and health care professionals with valuable health information.” For nurses, mobile health (mHealth) apps could be a convenient source of evidence-based information, especially for those working in communities where access to information will not be available. But which apps are probably the most accurate, trustworthy and reliable?

Nurses should evaluate mHealth applications using several criteria (Airth-Kindree and Vandenbark, 2014):

• What are the creator’s credentials?
• Does the developer or publisher have a great fame within the healthcare industry?
• Is the app peer-reviewed?
• Who is the audience?
• What is the aim of the appliance?
• Is it up up to now? What is the publication date?

There are over 350,000 mHealth apps available you could download to your smartphone. Although I personally use a handful of mHealth resources in my clinical practice, I turned to the clinical team at NursingCenter for his or her expert advice. Here are a few of our favourite apps. All of them are updated usually and available in each the App Store and Google Play.

1. : For prescribers, this app includes prescription and over-the-counter monographs, drug interaction checker, pill identifier, dosage calculators, formularies, labs, ICD-10 codes and more. Published by Epocrates, Inc.
2. : Contains over 400 resources/titles from leading publishers, authors and medical societies, including Davis’ Medication Guide for Nurses, Intravenous Medications: A Handbook for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals, Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy, ICD-10- CM, and more. Published by Skyscape Medpresso Inc.
3. : Written by nurses for nurses, it’s a set of evidence-based practices that concentrate on diseases and conditions, signs and symptoms, diagnostic tests and coverings. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health.
4. ​This guide includes over 400 nursing procedures – from basic to advanced, with step-by-step instructions to follow on the bedside. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health.
5. : Includes current prices from local and mail-order pharmacies, manufacturer co-pay cards, pharmacy and membership programs, details about Medicare co-pays, and money-saving suggestions. This app helps support medication adherence and patient satisfaction. Posted by GoodRx. .
6. : Clinical decision support resources with evidence-based information. UpToDate has been evaluated in over 30 research studies which have shown that its use is related to improved patient care and hospital efficiency. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health. .
7. : Provides current medical news, expert opinions, bedside drug and disease information, reference articles, and skilled education (CME/CE). Published by WebMD, LLC.
8. : Developed by board-certified physicians, this app provides access to over 270 clinical decision-making tools, including risk scores, algorithms, equations, formulas, classifications, dosing calculators, and other patient care support elements. Published by MD Aware, LLC.
9. : Provides healthcare professionals and students with descriptions of hundreds of conditions from all major medical and surgical specialties, including etiology, pathophysiology, evaluation, and treatment. Topics written and updated by over 350 academic physicians. Published by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
10. : Provides health news and reliable, research-based details about health diseases, symptoms and procedures. Published by Mayo Clinic.
11. ​: Helps the physician assess a patient’s individual 10-year risk of atherosclerotic heart problems (ASCVD) and provides guidance for a tailored intervention plan. Published by the American College of Cardiology.
12. : Assists clinicians in making nursing diagnoses and developing care plans. The 440 medical diagnoses include definition, associated aspects, characteristics, interventions, Nursing Intervention Classification/Nursing Outcome Classification (NIC/NOC), and documentation guidelines. Published by F.A. Davis and offered by Unbound Medicine, Inc.
13. : Supports students preparing for the NCLEX exam with over 3,000 practice questions, quizzes, mnemonics, and techniques. Published by Higher Learning Technologies, Inc.: .
14. Provides information on infectious diseases, including clinical syndromes (by site of infection), pathogens (bacterial, fungal, mycobacterial, parasitic, and viral), anti-infectives (dosage, unwanted side effects, activity, pharmacology, interactions), dosage charts, calculators, and preventive therapy. Published by Antimicrobial Therapy, Inc.

Remember that apps in your device have specific requirements to operate properly. Please check the next before downloading:

• Compatibility along with your device
• Minimum software or operating system requirements
• File size or storage specifications

Airth-Kindree, N., and Vandenbark, R. T. (2014). Mobile applications in nursing education and practice. . 39 section 4, 166-169.

Food and Drug Administration (2018). Mobile medical applications.https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/digital-health/mobile-medical-applications

Research 2 Tips. (2017). 325,000 mobile health apps available in 2017 – Android is currently the leading mHealth platform.https://research2guidance.com/325000-mobile-health-apps-available-in-2017/