“How can you start doing anything with healthcare apps when there are over 40,000 of them out there?” I was asked at least ten times at EHI Live this week. My answer was that there are only some 0.5% of those that are what I call “medical apps”, that really deserve attention, now. These are apps that for example might either meet, or be close to meeting, the definition of a medical device in the Medical Devices Directive 93/42EC: that have the power to do great harm if in error, and great good if properly constructed and maintained. Or they might be apps that transform the way training is delivered.
And then beyond that small number, there are just one or two that really stand out as signposts as to how digital health will completely transform the way healthcare is taught and delivered.
One such is Touch Surgery…and there is no better way of appreciating the power of the app and the vision of the founders who created it than to watch the video they have recently released. Of course they are now integrating with Google Glass, which makes the app even more compelling.
It’s certainly been a long time since I met a surgeon who was not aware of Touch Surgery, and probably as long since I met a surgeon under the age of 50 who didn’t have the app on his Android or Apple tablet.
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