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Physician creates iPhone applications for orthopedic exam review and training
The applications may be the first of their kind and could indicate an expansive new field.
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With the use of devices like the BlackBerry and iPhone exploding into the communications market, at least one physician is branching out and creating additional ways for information to be right at a user’s fingertips.
Frank M. Griffin, MD, talked with Orthopedics Today about the recent creation and release of his two iPhone applications designed to help residents and physicians review for recertification and orthopedic training exams, as well as keeping their practice skills sharp.
He said the iPhone applications (or apps) that he designed — one for sports medicine and one for general orthopedics — are for board review. “They consist of 50 questions. You hit the question, the question comes up, and there are five possible answers. You pick which one you think is best and it gives you additional information as to whether you are correct or not as well as additional information about the particular answer that you chose.”
Griffin, who created a small program in BASIC to help with lab work when he was in his residency, said the motivation to write the applications came from the extra time he had after suffering a recent injury.
“I had to spend a lot of time sitting, and I was simultaneously reviewing for my boards,” he said. “I took my recertification exams in March, and in preparation for that I thought it would really be helpful if I had an iPhone app that I could use between surgical cases.”
The applications cover a number of different topics within the fields, and each topic is covered with a specific question. Griffin said this is done by incorporating a large amount of information into every question. He also worked to make sure the applications help with memorization.
“I tried to cover material we have to memorize, because I think repetition helps with memorization, and I tried to present it in a way that is memorable,” he said.
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Images: Griffin FM |
Griffin said if there is adequate interest in his applications, he’ll look at producing more, including yearly follow-ups to his current applications and new products covering different areas such as pediatrics.
“I am looking to get the word out and see what the interest is,” he said. “If there is adequate interest, I’ll develop a whole suite of these applications. It takes a lot of time and effort, and I can’t do that unless there is demand.”
Regardless of the applications’ future, Griffin said the further development of similar applications should be an eventuality rather than a possibility.
“I don’t see how it could not [become more prevalent],” he said. “You have all of this information at your fingertips. I think if we do not use it, it would be a shame because there is so much potential there. I have a lot of ideas and ways in which other physicians could use it.”
“Going forward, we are trying to have more guideline-based practices and evidence-based medicine,” Griffin continued. “If the evidence is at our fingertips, I do not see how we could not use it.”
The apps — BoneTestPeds09 and BoneTestSports09 — can both be found in the App Store on iTunes. BoneTestPeds09 costs $4.99 and BoneTestSports09 costs $7.99. A review of hip and knee reconstruction for orthopedic surgeons titled BoneTestRecon09 is slated for release in the near future.
For more information:
- Frank M. Griffin, MD, is a private practice physician at the Complete Knee Center of Arkansas in Van Buren, Ark. He can be reached at 2020 Chestnut St., Suite 107, Van Buren, AR 72956; (479) 474-8005; e-mail: drgriffin@completekneecenter.com.
Reference:
- For more information regarding applications for physicians, visit www.appsfordoctors.com.