Welcome to our latest installment of Top 10 Medical Apps. Each year for the past few years, we’ve taken a look at the top-ranked apps for personal devices. HealthCare Business News has waded through the apps that are labeled “health apps," made more for the general public than for medical professionals. Instead, what we present here are apps that might very well make your day on the job a little easier. If you already have a familiarity with apps for BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) there may be a few omissions that stick out.

For example, Epocrates is probably the most popular app for health care professionals. But we’ve covered it in the past. Our list is only heading into app territory we haven’t covered before. If there’s a popular app that’s been out for a while, not on this year’s list, chances are it’s on one from a previous year. If there’s a brand new app you feel should have been included, please drop us a line or leave a comment in the comment section of the story’s online version! Other requirements for making this list include the app having been released or updated in the past year, at least a three-star user rating, and at least 50 users rating it.

Patient care and tracking
The ACA has really changed the health care landscape. With reimbursement shifting from fee-for-service and even dependent on patient feedback, apps that help keep a patient’s experience a positive one are only going to become more popular in the coming months. Here are some that already have a foothold:

Knee Decide – Patient Engagement Tools for Healthcare Providers
Produced by: Orca Health, Inc.
Price: Free
Version: 5.1.1
Last Updated: Oct. 25, 2015
Compatibility: requires iOS 8.0 or later
Description: The days of patients unquestionably following “doctor’s orders” are behind us. Today, it’s more important than ever for patients to understand what procedures they’re being presented with and the benefits and risks associated. And they’ll want to know those benefits and risks in terms they can understand. Knee Decide provides information like anatomical models of the knee to provide a display to accompany explanations. It also shows normal and abnormal displays of the knee using 3-D animation. Additionally, the app provides information on stretching and strengthening exercises to improve recovery times.

SnoreLab: Record Your Snoring
Produced by: Reviva Softworks, Ltd.
Price: $6.99
Version: 3.5
Last Updated: Dec. 18, 2015
Availability: iOS 7.0 or later, also available for Android
Description: SnoreLab is a consumer app, but there are benefits for health care providers. The app records, measures and tracks a user’s snoring. It provides a “snore score," and the information can be useful for physicians as well. It should be of particular interest to sleep specialists, giving them a way to measure whether a prescribed treatment is proving effective. But general practitioners may also benefit from information it’s providing on a patient.

Spine Decide – Patient Engagement Tools for Healthcare Providers
Produced by: Orca Health, Inc.
Price: Free
Version: 5.1.1
Last Updated: Oct. 25, 2015
Compatibility: requires iOS 8.0 or later
Description: This second entry from Orca Health is built on the same premise as the Knee Decide app. This time, as the name indicates, the focus is on the spine. It offers all the same information as the previously mentioned app, but spine-specific: anatomical models to provide a display to accompany explanations to patients, normal and abnormal displays using 3-D animations and stretching and strengthening exercises to help speed patient recovery.

Education/Training
Clinical Sense
Produced by: Medical Joyworks LLC
Price: Free
Version: 1.0.5
Last Updated: Feb. 6, 2015
Compatibility: requires iOS 6.0 or later or Android 2.3 or later
Description: Clinical Sense presents hypothetical situations for a physician to consider and work through to find solutions. A number of potential solutions also deliver a number of potential outcomes. The app helps experienced doctors keep skills sharp, while professionals new to the field may pick up valuable knowledge and insight. Each situation is created through use of current medical information and uses appropriate management guidelines.

Reference
With hundreds of thousands of medical terms in existence, apps won’t have every one referenced in dusty old books. But do you have the time to read through each of those tomes to learn every term? In lieu of that, let technology lend a hand:

Johns Hopkins ABX, HIV, Diabetes, and Psychiatry Guides
Published by: Johns Hopkins Medicine
Powered by: Unbound Medicine, Inc.
Price: $29.99 per title or all titles $79.99 per year
Version: 1.12
Last Updated: Dec. 22, 2015
Compatibility: requires iOS 7.0 or later, available for Android OS 4.0 or later
Description: Four guides are available. The Antibiotic Guide features information on drug details, pathogens, disease management, vaccine information and other details to help support point-of-care decisions. The Psychiatry Guide provides information on diagnosis and treatment consistent with DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. The Diabetes Guide provides up-to-date information on diagnosis, classification and management. The HIV Guide provides up-to-date information on diagnosis and management including information on infection, complication and therapeutic options.

LactMed
Published by: National Library of Medicine
Price: Free
Version: 2.4.0
Last Updated: March 25, 2015
Compatibility: requires iOS 3.0 or later, available for Android OS 2.1 or higher
Description: The information offered through LactMed comes from the National Library of Medicine’s Toxicology Data Network. The data network provides information on the effects that different drugs and supplements may have on breast-feeding. It provides details on the potential for those substances to pass to the baby through breast milk and what impact that may have on the baby. The information is valuable for physicians prescribing drugs and supplements and also useful for nursing mothers.

Medical Dictionary – Healthcare Terminology and Definitions
Produced by:Farlex, Inc.
Price:Free/Ad Free Upgrade $0.99
Version:1.0
Released:Aug. 18, 2015
Compatibility:Requires iOS 7.0 or later, also available on Android
Description:Featuring more than 180,000 medical terms, more than 50,000 audio pronunciations and 12,000 images, Medical Dictionary — Healthcare Terminology and Definitions provides a lot of information at your fingertips. Also includes more than 1,000 medical abbreviations and acronyms and information on more than 4,000 OTC drugs.

WISER
Produced by:National Library of Medicine
Price:Free
Version:4.6
Last Updated:Aug.13, 2015
Compatibility:requires iOS 7.0 or later, available for Android OS 2.6.6 or higher
Description:This is the second entry from the National Library of Medicine. WISER, or Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders, is an information clearing house that’s somewhat unique. Instead of providing information on medications and their interactions, it provides information of use to first responders heading into situations where they may encounter hazardous materials. WISER provides information about the substances to support decision making, identification of unknown substances and directives for how to handle identified toxic materials.

Figure 1 – Medical Cases for Healthcare Professionals
Produced by: Figure 1, Inc.
Price: Free
Version: 6.4.2
Last Updated: Dec. 8, 2015
Compatibility: requires iOS 8.0 or later, available for Android OS
4.0 or higher
Description: We first covered Figure 1 in our online news back in March 2015, where we called it “Instagram for Doctors." It makes the list here because it’s a tool that has really taken off. More than 150,000 health care professionals have downloaded the app. They use it to discuss diagnosis and treatments, and even presentations with their peers. The app automatically blocks patients' faces and other identifying details to protect confidentiality.

QuantiaMD
Produced by: Quantia Communications
Price: Free
Version: 2.5.38
Last Updated: March 25, 2015
Compatibility: requires iOS 5.1 or later, available for Android as well
Description: QuantiaMD is an app that provides access to an online collaborative community of medical professionals. Users are able to query experts about perplexing cases, and they can also test their own knowledge by viewing some challenging cases. The app is only available to licensed health care professionals, so we weren’t able to confirm some recent reviews that claim the Amazon rewards offered to contributors no longer register. The app also allows users to gain free AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.