Review of iPhone apps for patients in England

I chose to find and check out apps that patients in England can use – though I did find some excellent ones for patients in other countries  We have some catching up to do…. This is not a comprehensive list and I looked at those that interested me. I've avoided ones that are specifically disease related as I will review those separately. I've also not repeated the apps in my review of iPhone apps for the NHS.

All apps are free, unless specified, and I have no links or specific benefits from any organisation listed in this post.

RCP Stroke Guidelines 2012 – Patient and Carer

Another great title. This is patient specific advice from the Royal College of Physicians and I LOVE the fact it is based on the Guidelines published in 2012. This is a proper app, with a proper evidence base, doing something proper. It would be great to see apps like these for all clinical guidelines. It’s well designed and easy to navigate. And includes links to stroke clubs and other services. Why this works is it is not just a sales pitch for one service or organisation – it is designed around the patient. The first truly patient centred app that I've come across.

Patient.co.uk

This is an information based app with all their leaflets on health, conditions and diseases.  You can also find services close to you. Useful, though I’m not certain about the advertising. Others have reviewed the app as having some technical difficulties and the disadvantage of not being able to store a leaflet for viewing offline.

Communicating with foreign language speaking patients (in English, German, French, Japanese): A guide for doctors and nurses

Wonderful title that explains all. Although this is targeted at doctors and nurses, the app is also useful for patients. Of course there is Google Translate which is probably the best app for language translation as it includes all known languages – though this app does cover some of the more complex medical terminology.

GP Ratings £0.69

A simple app locating GP surgeries and giving you their ratings by using the open data available. It’s a useful way to make data useful, though as the data is made available free of charge some may prefer not to pay. What I liked is the way I could see the details of ratings for my own practice. But would I want to pay 69p to see this once, as I would be unlikely to use it again, as I have little option for changing to another GP.