SOM Mobile Resources: Mobile Resources

This guide is dedicated to downloadable applications (apps) for mobile devices, particularly for their use in medical education and health care.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact Wendy Herman.

It is generally not advisable to take a smartphone or tablet with you on rounds or in certain other scenarios in hospital settings until you are familiar with the policies of that institution. Policies may also vary from department to department within a hospital. When in doubt about the rules regarding these tools, it is a good idea to ask first. 

Some mobile applications like Micromedex, Epocrates, and NEJM are mobile versions of resources that are already considered professionally reliable. Taking that into consideration, it is important to remember that in most cases anyone can create a mobile phone app. There are applications you may not readily recognize and will need to evaluate further. When considering mobile applications you should use most of the same criteria that you would use when evaluating a website:

• Who is the author and what are their credentials? Can they be verified?
• When was the application created and when was its most recent update?
• How current is the information presented?
• Who is the intended audience? Is it professional or targeted toward consumers?
• Are there any sources cited for the information provided?
• Is the coverage of the material comprehensive?
• Is there enough information present that it can be verified with another source if needed?
• Is the content presented objectively?

It is also a good idea to make sure the library does not already subscribe to the mobile format of a resource that is sold as a subscription. For example, Harrison's Manual of Medicine sells for $89.99 as an app, but is already available via mobile browser through Hofstra SOM subscription for free. If you are not sure, please contact us.

Below are links to websites that review apps. Hovering over the title will tell you whether they are reviews specific for medical apps.