The mass adoption of smartphones among physicians has not only triggered an explosion of medical apps targeted at healthcare providers, it has also encouraged an emerging trend of health and wellness apps aimed at empowering patients. In fact, there are thought to be 40,000 medical applications available for download on tablets and smartphones, with the market still in its infancy.

Medical apps enable users to monitor health and encourage patient wellness on a moment-to-moment basis, instead of only during occasional visits to the doctor’s surgery. Some even replace devices used in hospitals and doctor’s offices, such as glucometers and high-quality microscopes used by dermatologists to examine skin irregularities.

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There are also a number of apps that improve doctor-patient interaction. DrawMD lets doctors use interactive diagrams to show patients what’s happening with their bodies and exactly what will happen during various procedures. Alternatively, patients can use this app to get doctors to provide detailed visual answers to their questions.

Another app is enabling Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking patients to communicate with their non-Chinese-speaking doctors about detailed medical problems. And another lets doctors forward links to online educational material to patient’s smartphones or tablets.

So far, the market has been unregulated for both doctors and patients. Many argue that it is difficult to know which apps actually live up to their health claims or provide accurate information.

Last year in the US, the FDA released a first draft of guidelines that require mobile app developers making medical claims to apply for FDA approval in the same way that new medical devices must be proved safe and effective before they go to market. As that process can be both time-consuming and expensive, there has been an obvious backlash from developers used to seeing mobile apps updated and created on a daily basis.

Healthcare professionals are incorporating apps into their practices to be more effective and efficient. Patients are using them to monitor specific aspects of their health, fill in gaps in their medical care and take more responsibility for their well-being. Both doctors and patients are finding that mobile apps can provide a fast and efficient way to stay in touch and exchange information.

When one needs banking services, the immediate thought is often, “Where is the nearest ATM?”  So can medical apps really be the go-to resource for healthcare in the same regard?

10 of the best medical apps