Joyce Copeland, M.D.: There's an App for That

Joyce Copeland
By Joyce Copeland, M.D.

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I admit it: I love apps. It may be a sign of an aging brain needing a little assistance, but I can live with that. I have discussed the role of the electronic era in the past but I thought it was time to update the subject with a few recommendations. These tools have been useful in both direct patient care and especially for teaching of students and residents.

Here are just a few useful apps:

Prevention

  • AHRQ ePSS: This app allow you to search for U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines based on age and gender. It mirrors the AHRQ website by dividing the recommendations into evidence weighted categories and provides links to the rationales and clinical implications. I find it an aid for patient and student education.
  • FRAX is the Fracture Risk Assessment Tool. This can be used to calculate the 10-year risk for osteoporotic fractures. It is a good assessment as well as education tool. The National Osteoporosis Foundation has NOF Guide to assist you and your patient or student review osteoporosis prevention and management.
  • University of California San Francisco designed ePrognosis. It uses information from The National Health Interview Survey and the Health and Retirement Survey. The surveys from the late-1990s reviewed health behavior, disease burden and function. The participants were followed over time. It helps with decisions about cancer screening. Their website provides an excellent resource when teaching risk assessment and communication with patients.
  • Shots Immunizations: This Society of Teachers of Family Medicine app is one of many free products that help with immunization protocols. 
  • PneumoVacc: If the rules for providing pneumococcal vaccines drive you nuts, let this tool help. You enter the patient’s information about age and health conditions. The app provides the recommendation.
  • Bright Futures: This app is from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It provides tools and resources for pediatric prevention. You can print the questionnaires and patient handouts with a wireless printer connection.

Infectious Disease

Some good options from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Chronic disease management

Standards of Care app: American Diabetes Association standards of care provides easy access to screening, diagnosis and management of diabetes.

Other

  • Dermatomes: This visual aid can help patients see a nerve distribution map. It comes in handy when explaining neuropathy.
  • MedCalc contains calculators across multiple disciplines. Want to calculate the Epworth Sleep Score, stroke risk, peak flow, corrected sodium level, or numbers needed to treat. This is your app and that is only the beginning.
  • ACP Guidelines: The American College of Physicians provides best practice guidelines for prevention and disease management, updated regularly.
  • Aspirin Guide helps decide the risk-benefit value for use of low-dose aspirin.
  • Statin Intolerance from the American College of Cardiology provides protocols and an assessment tool to manage the use of statins when patients have symptoms.

Pain management

  • NYC Health has an app for calculating the daily morphine equivalent.  It serves as a quick on-the-fly tool to measure this value and it also helps as a visual aid when discussing opioid limits with patients. The app is OpioidCalculator.
  • Opioid Tools by Cheryl Bernstein, M.D.: It contains an “Opioid Risk Tool” to calculate the risk for opioid misuse as required by the CDC guidelines for pain management. It also contains a tool for understanding metabolites in urine samples and the average length of detection in the urine plus which metabolites will appear. For example, oxycodone can be detected for approximately 48 hours and results should include oxycodone and oxymorphone. 

Social media

Now, about social media, be sure to check out Twitter feeds from Duke Family Medicine. @DukeFMStudents is a profile I started to broadcast information related to health care and care systems. @vivimbmd is Dr. Viviana Martinez-Biachi’s feed. She covers local, national and international health and health equity issues. Several of our residents have their own feeds.  See @DrAlexaMieses and @DrJessLapinski as they demonstrate their leadership skills and expand their networks. Want to know what is happening at Duke Community and Family Medicine? Follow @Duke_CFM. 

Let us know your favorite apps and social media family. 

Joyce Copeland is core faculty in the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program. Contact her at joyce.copeland@dm.duke.edu.

Editor’s note: A member of the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program leadership team guest blogs every month.

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