This time last year I reviewed Browzine, an app that lets its users browse, sort and save scholarly and peer-reviewed articles on the go. Docphin (the Personalized Health Information Network) is of a similar ilk but with a few key differences; not least its focus on medical journals. Founded by a group of physicians in 2010, Docphin seeks to address the need of medical professionals to keep up-to-date with medical literature in an easily accessible format.  By the end of 2013, it was being used by over 350 institutions in 15 countries.

In a nutshell, Docphin streamlines access to medical research from over 5000 journals and recommends content that’s relevant to the user’s interests and/or trending among peers.  Providers save their subscription credentials to the device and quickly access PDFs that can be saved for later or shared with colleagues, all from their mobile device ( iPad, iPhone, Android) or on the Web.

Like Browzine, Docphin serves as an integrated portal for institutional users, removing the need to search the online library and go through different logins or journal portals. This cuts down time and speeds up access to medical literature. Docphin allows a user to register for free and create a profile, provided they are a member of one of the current institutions working with Docphin. If you cannot find your institution as an option, you can easily request that Docphin reach out and invite the institution to join.

After registering, the user can customise the service to fit their needs. This includes selecting specific medical journals and news sources broken down into different medical specialties (e.g. general medicine, cardiology). Twitter is integrated to allow a stream of updates on these specific areas of interest. Highly read articles (according to popularity signified by the many Docphin users) are also presented in the ‘Medstream’ screen.

In addition to all this, Docphin has a hospital platform that enables departments and residency programs to upload clinical guidelines, hospital protocols, and decision-making references for mobile access. Residency programs can also track and measure objective metrics that can be used to help meet new accreditation milestones set by the ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education). It has also recently been announced that Docphin will feature Knowmedge’s ABIM Board Exam practice questions for medical residents and physicians to test their internal medicine knowledge. These kind of agreements could lay the groundwork for further collaboration and further opportunities to enhance medical education.