Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Funding sources: none. Conflicts of interest: none declared. Madam, Smartphones (mobile phones with advanced computing capability) are rapidly gaining in popularity, and with the advent of downloadable applications known as ‘apps’, their potential to deliver healthcare is increasingly recognized. There are now thousands of medical apps available. However, recent concerns regarding safety, confidentiality, quality of content and regulation in this rapidly evolving field of information technology have been raised. We have conducted a survey of contemporary dermatology‐themed smartphone apps in which we specifically examined the authorship in order to gauge the prevalence of medical professional involvement in app development and content. Seventy‐nine dermatology‐themed smartphone apps were identified through four major online app stores. Forty‐nine (62%) apps provided reference materials, ranging from searchable, illustrated databases of common skin conditions to portals for accessing online versions of popular dermatology textbooks and journals. Ten (13%) apps offered dermatology‐based questions/multiple‐choice questions. Eight (10%) apps were intended for use as a diagnostic aid, including disease severity scoring calculators e.g. Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) for psoriasis, apps helping to formulate differential diagnoses, and those providing automated photoanalysers for risk stratification of solitary skin lesions. Among additional apps are those providing a means of self‐monitoring (n = 5, 6%), for example allowing patients to photograph their skin lesions, plot them on a diagram and compare them over time. Seven (9%) miscellaneous apps included a video tutorial demonstrating how to perform skin biopsies; an app containing the necessary software to use a physical dermoscope attachment; and an app detailing various dermatology patient support groups.
Hamilton et al. (Fri,) studied this question.