Mobile health applications in paediatric care for healthcare providers

Usage of mobile health applications (mHealth apps) among healthcare providers (HCPs) have greatly increased in the paediatric setting due to its handy and convenient features. However, it is difficult for HCPs to identify appropriate and reliable apps due to tremendous amount of mHealth apps available in commercial apps store. Structured review of previous literature about apps in paediatric care and quality assessment of selected apps in commercial apps store was performed. For structured review of previous literature, Google Scholar, PubMed, IEEE Xplore Digital Library and Science Direct were used for literature search. The criteria employed for quality assessment for selected apps were no internet connection, size of application less than 50MB, diseases, diagnostic tools, medical calculator, treatments, dosage recommendations and drug interaction checker. 27 out of 90 mhealth apps which fulfilled the study citeria were selected for quality assessment. Medscape®, Skyscape® and iGuideline® score the highest (score=?) while PediaBP score the lowest (score=3). Medscape®, Skyscape® and iGuideline® are the most comprehensive mHealth apps for HCPs in paediatric setting for quick reference particularly in medical emergency. However, the downside of Medscape® is the requirement for internet connection for access. Skyscape® and iGuideline® both have no drug interaction checker. In view of the increased apps development in the future, regulation on the safe use of mHealth apps is warranted.