Recent studies have highlighted the need for clinicians to be more involved in the mobile phone app development process and a research article highlighted a simple methodology of creating an application using just an Internet browser and a text editor. Most of the current apps available have been developed by external vendors and developers, and are lacking inputs from clinicians who have a vast amount of knowledge and expertise in their specialized fields. Apart from the concerns about the high cost associated with development, another concern lies with the fact pertaining to how evidence-based apps are. Very often, clinicians and researchers have to wait for and hope to be successful in securing grants to finance the developmental costs. Despite the high usage of mobile phone and its apps, the development of mobile phone apps by professionals will incur a huge cost. Although mobile phones have been used by the majority of interns on a daily basis in performing their job, there still needs to be more guidance and advice with regards to the accuracy and the credibility of the information provided within the apps. However, it is a well-known fact that anyone could publish a medical app, and the app stores do not routinely do a rigorous review of the accuracy of the content of the mobile app prior to publication. Īlong with the enhancements in mobile phone functionality, there has been an increased number of educational mobile phone apps made available for users to download and install. This has been replicated in other studies, which highlighted that there has been a high level of mobile phone ownership and usage amongst medical students and junior doctors. A survey questionnaire conducted at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, highlighted that students generally find mobile phones useful as educational aids, with at least 84% believing so. There have been numerous literatures demonstrating the acceptability of mobile phone usage in education for medical students. In 2012, a questionnaire-based survey was distributed amongst interns in the Republic of Ireland, and it has demonstrated that mobile phones are being used daily by the interns to perform their job. Previous reviews have highlighted the worldwide prevalence and the global acceptance of mobile phones and commercial mobile apps by medical students, trainees, and interns. They have literally been transformed into sophisticated personal mini-computers.
Over the past few years, mobile phones have advanced drastically in terms of both their functionality and design, and they are currently more than what used to be a simple call and messaging device.
The worldwide prevalence of mobile phones has made them a very useful and innovative platform for the provision of patient care, as well as in helping clinicians with management decisions.
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