business

Smartphones called on for medical emergencies

Doctors caution that applications for dealing with life-threatening situations aren't a substitute for actual emergency care.

By Pamela Lewis Dolan — Posted Feb. 24, 2010

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

Medical emergency applications for smartphones are finding their way into the marketplace for consumers.

A recent entrant is AED Nearby, an application to help users locate the nearest automated external defibrillator.

Launched in January by the First Aid Corps, a group of volunteers trained to provide resuscitation in case of cardiac arrest, AED Nearby will help users locate the nearest defibrillator when sudden cardiac arrest occurs. The application works in conjunction with a GPS system to identify the user's location and direct him or her to the nearest device.

Several other applications for emergency situations have launched in recent months, including the Pocket First Aid & CPR Guide, developed by the American Heart Assn.

Methodist missionary Dan Woolley of Colorado Springs, Colo., credited the application for saving his life when he was trapped in a building for more than 60 hours after the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti. Woolley said he was able to use the application to learn how to fashion a tourniquet and bandage to treat his broken leg, and slow the bleeding from a head wound while he waited to be rescued.

Bret A. Nicks, MD, assistant medical director of the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's Dept. of Emergency Medicine, said some useful applications have been built around the ICE (in case of emergency) concept. First responders can activate the ICE application not only to determine whom to contact but also to access any information, such as medical conditions and drug allergies, that can be used by the physician treating them.

Members of the American College of Emergency Physicians said they have found some of the consumer applications useful but added that they should be used with caution.

"If you don't know the setting or the background behind the information, sometimes it can be misinterpreted," said Ryan Stanton, MD, an ACEP spokesman and emergency physician at UK Healthcare, affiliated with the University of Kentucky's medical school. "We don't want people sitting home or out of the ER when they have an emergent condition just because the iPhone or application says they don't need to seek help or they think they've treated it."

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn