Professional Involvement in Ophthalmology iPhone Application Development: An Update

Abstract

Background: Smartphone technology and related applications are increasingly prevalent in the field of medicine and ophthalmology, offering a wide range of hand-held capabilities not previously available. While these technologies have enormous potential, many apps are developed without the involvement of qualified professionals leading to concerns about their quality and validity.Aims: To assess iPhone ® applications aimed at eye care professionals for qualified professional involvement in their development.Methods: Applications were identified by searching the Apple ® (Cupertino, CA) iTunes ® Store using the terms 'ophthalmology' and 'ophthalmologist' in addition to a number of common eye conditions outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Applications were then assessed for category of application, intended audience, documented involvement of medical professionals in application development, price, user rating and date of publication. Results:In total, 152 applications were identified across 12 categories. Applications were found to target eye-care professionals (ophthalmologists and non-ophthalmologists) (32.3%), ophthalmologists specifically (32.3%), non-ophthalmology eye-care professionals (3.3%) and patients (34.2%). Overall, 36 (23.7%) applications had clearly documented professional involvement in their development. Conclusions:There continues to be a low level of professional involvement in the development of ophthalmology based iPhone ® applications. This is concerning given the growing prevalence of these technologies and their enormous potential. It is therefore incumbent on clinicians to be informed about the applications they use and promote high quality applications developed with professional expertise.Disclosures: All authors have completed the Unified Competing Interest form at www.icmje.org/coi_ disclosure.pdf (available on request from the corresponding author) and declare: no support from any organisation for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.