Hand-held smartphones and tablets have revolutionized the world in the past few years as the ubiquitous devices and all the mobile applications they can store put information at a digital fingertip’s reach. But what is their role in the emergency department?

Resa Lewiss, MD, director of point-of-care ultrasound in the department of emergency medicine and an associate professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, hopes to help answer that question during her rapid-fire session, “There’s An App for That: Hand-Held Devices and Applications that You Should Know About.”

“They say by the time a textbook comes out it’s already outdated,” she said. “If you really want to know what’s happening, you need to adopt another means of acquiring information. The advantage of apps is there’s a quickness and a time efficiency. It’s right in your pocket and you can pull it up right away.”

“People need to realize that the smart phone and apps can help them as well rounded individuals, as practicing physicians.” —Dr. Lewiss

Dr. Lewiss plans to focus on two types of apps: professional and personal. Most physicians may quickly think about the value of using visual-diagnostic apps. But fewer might think to use apps that can enhance their lives outside the emergency department and make them more effective physicians.

“People need to realize that the smart phone and apps can help them as well rounded individuals, as practicing physicians,” she said. “The goal of this talk is that they don’t just think that a medical app is all about their practice when they’re in the ED, but there’s a lot of apps that can enhance their lives and make them more effective physicians outside the ED.”

Dr. Lewiss

Rapid Fire: There’s An App for That: Hand-Held Devices and Applications that You Should Know About
Sunday, Oct. 16
1:30–1:55 p.m.
Mandalay Bay Ballroom B