Smartphones are now part of our daily existence. Interestingly, medical apps are increasingly being utilized by physicians and patients alike. In this updated article, we will be reviewing the best endocrinology apps based on physician and patient reviews. All of the featured apps are available on either the Android or IOS platforms.
Best Apps for endocrinologists
Assessment of patient risk factors, medication doses, and differential diagnoses may sometimes involve the need for assessing additional resources. Smartphone apps are a convenient way of quickly making relevant calculations in a busy clinical setting, and this can be time-saving and thus improve the efficiency of a physician’s practice. These are the recommended apps for endocrinologists, endocrinology residents, and general physicians involved in the treatment of patients with hormonal problems.
Thyroid Navigator
The Thyroid Navigator is the 3D graphics model of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. It is a useful patient and trainee education tool for the most common thyroid gland diseases.
It clearly displays the perspective from the skin through to deeper tissues. It shows three-dimensional models of benign thyroid gland tumors, thyroid cancer, lymph node metastasis, tracheal invasion, chronic thyroiditis, and a relationship of the thyroid to various critical structures in the neck. In addition, it has 3D models of parathyroid adenoma and carcinoma.
Key features
- The three-dimensional model of both the thyroid and parathyroid glands
- The model can be rotated along various axes.
- Various postoperative states of the thyroid and parathyroid glands are shown.
- It is ideal for teaching physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians and patients.
Endo Calc
Endo Calc is an app developed for practicing endocrinologists by an endocrinologist. Many routine tasks that require complex calculations can be done using Endo Tools in a few clicks!
Key features
- Convert HbA1c to average blood glucose and fructosamine.
- Convert steroids.
- Thyroid nodule volume calculator
- Thyroid cancer staging
- Thyroxine dose calculator
- Calcium corrected for albumin
- Fractional excretion of calcium for familial benign hypocalciuric hypercalcemia
- NAFLD fibrosis score
The app undergoes regular updates with plans for additional tools in the near future, as per the developer. It currently costs 3.99 US Dollars on the app store. Unfortunately, there is neither a trial nor a free version.
Best Apps for endocrinology patients
Diabetes mellitus accounts for up to 50% of patients seen in outpatient endocrinology practices. A significant burden of disease is attributed to type 2 diabetes mellitus; however, type 1 diabetes is indeed the more challenging condition to manage in terms of the risk of immediate complications. Type 1 diabetes is associated with a very high risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).
Indeed, stress, exercise, and diet can affect blood sugars significantly. Patients with type 1 diabetes are expected to take an estimated amount of insulin based on how much carbohydrates they plan on consuming. Invariably, patients need to make several calculations throughout the day. This is less of a hustle for those on insulin pumps or smart insulin pens. However, for patients on traditional multiple daily insulin injections, this can be challenging. We have selected the best resources for patients with type 1 diabetes.
T1D1
The T1D1 app is valuable for manually logging a patient’s blood sugars and insulin doses. The treating clinician programs the insulin-to-carb ratios, correction or sensitivity factors, and glucose targets. The patient is, however, expected to count carbohydrates in grams and input the value along with blood sugars at the time of insulin dose estimation.
The app is 100 percent free, with no annoying ads, subscription models, or in-app purchases. This distraction-free environment is helpful for people living with type 1 diabetes. All of the entries can be emailed out to the patient’s diabetes care team
Key features
- Programmable insulin dose settings: insulin to carb ratios, correction factor, and glucose targets.
- Settings can be programmed for different times of day in patients with varying physical activity levels.
- Share insulin and glucose logs with a diabetes care team.
Calorie King
The calorie king app is a free tool for estimating the total amount of carbohydrates in various food products. It can be extended beyond a simple carbohydrate counter since it estimates saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and fiber content in various foods.
Key Features
- A large database of food products, including fast food chains, popular restaurants and even branded food products.
- Food labels can easily be scanned to estimate their carbohydrate content.
Conclusion
There are certainly more apps than were reviewed in this post. I aimed to highlight the most common apps based on reviews from endocrinology providers and patients. I hope you found this post helpful.
The opinions expressed here represent the views of a practicing hormone specialist (endocrinologist) and must not substitute the advice of your health care provider. This blog post is written for a non-medical audience interested in learning more about hormonal disorders. The author has no commercial conflicts of interest to declare. Also, read our privacy policy.
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