App review: ReachMD's audio research keeps docs current

March 23, 2010

10:39 AM

Mobile app review: ReachMD

ReachMD, an iPhone application developed by Dr. David Preskill, is like listening to a National Public Radio interviewer read selections from a medical encyclopedia. Designed to keep medical professionals up-to-date with new research, the free app does just that.

Mobile app review: ReachMD

There's a lot of information available in this app, and the presentation of that information is somewhat bland. The podcast-based entries appear in long list of small black text, making it difficult to quickly scan content. The user can pinch-zoom to enlarge text, but I'd like to be able to increase the font size one or two points.

Mobile app review: ReachMD

Professional apps have come a long way in a short time, but many still bear the signs of quick development by a small team. One ReachMD screen preceding a podcast contains two typos - not a big problem, but mistakes like this can erode user perception of an app's legitimacy. Typos and syntactical errors are usually corrected in app updates.

Mobile app review: ReachMD

I listened to ReachMD's 15-minute podcast on Hereditary Angioedema with an expert from UCLA presenting disease specifics on best treatments and differing symptoms. At first, I was skeptical regarding the amount of information the session would apparently present in a short runtime. I was surprised to find that for only a fifteen minute podcast, the interview provided a lot of well-organized information that included covering what the disease was, its different forms, symptoms and best treatments.

Mobile app review: ReachMD

ReachMD is not meant to be used as a clinical decision support tool at the point of care. Rather, it's a behind-the-scenes application to help doctors stay current on developments in disease treatment. The free download is certainly worthwhile given the strength of the content offered.