New tools for doctor: Keeping you ‘appy’

Abstract

Medicine is a career of change. In the UK, we are subject to change on a particularly frequent basis. Over the past few years we have seen a data revolution and moved from reading articles in physical publications and ‘googling’ patient symptoms on a desktop to now using smart phones in our pockets or wearables on our wrists to both receive and create data for managing health. This article aims to explore this growing world and summarise key web or app-based resources that clinicians may find helpful in their clinical or organisational lives, in practice and to support patients. This list is not exhaustive, and things, as in many aspects of a fast-moving modern world, may have progressed further by the time this article is published. However, many of the principles will act as a guide for clinicians wishing to ‘plug in’, ‘log in’ and explore.