LAUSR

Close to 5 years ago the International Journal of Clinical Practice featured a review on mobile medical applications.1,2 Tim Aungst et al found that “app stores” such as iTunes are not effective means of identifying mobile medical applications and that clinicians seeking to identify medical apps need help. I have asked Tim for an update, and such a request is timely, given the US Food and Drug Administration’s taking notice and thinking through best steps to approach the regulation (or nonregulation) of mobile health applications.3 Recapping the story: there are many thousands of medical applications for mobile devices targeting use by consumers and healthcare professionals (Figure 1). Most medical apps run on smartphones, and smartphones have become ubiquitous around the world. The technology in smartphones has evolved to include a variety of sensors and integrated circuits that rival that of Star Trek’s fictional “Tricorder.”4-6 It remains difficult for an individual clinician to identify which medical apps are relevant among the morass of available software. For