Patient‐oriented mobile applications in ophthalmology

Abstract

Background

Mobile solutions will improve patient care only if they are equally valued by physicians and their patients. Although mobile applications are gaining acceptance among ophthalmologists and optometrists, little is known about their adoption among patients. Therefore, this study was designed to analyse the market for patient‐oriented mobile applications in ophthalmology.

Methods

Search engines of Google Play and App Store were utilised to find patient‐oriented mobile applications. All applications were divided into seven subspecialties; dry eye, strabismus and amblyopia, macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and general ophthalmology. Subsequently, number of downloads, average patient rating, year of release and source of clinical information provided in the application were collected. Furthermore, in order to evaluate whether development of software responds to epidemiological demand, number of applications in each subspecialty was correlated with the prevalence of particular diseases.

Results

Fifty‐six applications that met established criteria were found. The overall number of downloads was estimated at the level of 1.5-million, whereas the weighted average rating for all applications was 4.21/5. The number of applications by subspecialty did not correlate with the prevalence of particular eye disorder. The dry eye was the most frequently downloaded and best rated subspecialty.

Conclusions

The overall number of patient‐oriented applications in ophthalmology is low. Subspecialties are not equally equipped with patient‐oriented mobile solutions. Furthermore, the number of applications or downloads in each subspecialty does not correlate with the number of potential users such as patients with particular eye disorders. Finally, ophthalmologists should encourage software developers to meet future demand for mobile solutions in eye disorders.

Key words:

• mobile applications
• tele‐ophthalmology