Health apps for patients have really taken off, with a clear demand for apps that count calories, record weight loss and even dole out a punishment for slacking. Who wouldn’t want to be able to download their own personal trainer for 99p?

There is an app that beeps to the correct timing for chest compressions in CPR. You could of course just download the Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive to maintain the correct rate (or even Nellie the Elephant, as I was first taught).

But what about clinical apps to be used by healthcare professionals? Where does the line blur between a medical resource and a medical device? The notion that apps could simply be like reading a book or journal that we access through a phone or tablet came and went quickly because of course we interact with these devices so much more than is possible with books or journals. These devices not only provide information, they also receive it, interpret it, and they are with us all the time.

A charity d4 has released a report to help clarify the issue for those creating medical apps.

But there are also factors for the users of apps to consider, like whether any patient information they input is secure. As medical apps become more commonplace, guidelines on creation and usage are sure to follow.

So what is your favourite medical app?

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