The Trustworthiness of Mobile Health Applications for Emergency Medicine

Abstract

The use of mobile medical applications has increased over the past few years. Limited knowledge is available about the types of emergency medical applications currently in use and authenticity of information enclosed within each emergency medicine mobile health applications. The purpose of this study was to examine the trustworthiness of mobile medical health applications used in the emergency medicine. To evaluate the trustworthiness of the information within the mobile medical emergency applications, the “Health On the Net†(HON) survey was applied to measure which of the mobile apps met the HON code certification guidelines for providing trustworthy information. A mobile application was included in the study based on the following criteria: the mobile app was written in English, it was related to emergency bedside care, had more than 1000 downloads, a minimum review rating of 3.5 stars or more and was found on both the GooglePlay and iTunes. The total number of applications discussed and reviewed by the websites and literature searched was totaled 42 unique mobile health applications for emergency medicine. Upon reviewing the 42 applications, 18 relevant emergency medicine mobile health applications were included for further study. The results found in this study provided reassurance that certain mobile applications for emergency medicine are safe to be used. The mobile applications should be recommended by hospital administrations and insurance companies to help in decision-making and they can be listed for use by residents in the residency training. The culture of verifying the authenticity and trustworthiness of the information found in mobile applications should be incorporated in training and faculty development programs in the Emergency medicine.