Dr. Chang Quoted in National Press Release

Dr. Chang has been quoted in a recent national press release regarding the new Sermo iPhone app.

Sermo is a physician only online forum where medical quandaries are discussed and advice requested from physicians by physicians. Dr. Chang was recently contacted by Sermo for an interview regarding the new iPhone Sermo app. In the press release, he is quoted:

"The ability to consult with my colleagues in real-time, from the patient's bedside or my exam room, addresses an unmet need and will be of tremendous benefit, particularly for urgent clinical cases when I need an immediate response," said Christopher Y. Chang, MD, Fauquier ENT Consultants. "Similarly, the capacity to instantly post images and explanations about a patient case and share this information with colleagues through Sermo Mobile helps me provide the best care possible to my patients."

 Read the full press release here.

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Sermo iPhone App Review

Sermo is an online physician-only forum where doctors ask other doctors for advice. It's where we post particularly thorny/difficult medical issues we encounter in our patients (no patient identifiers of course) and pick the brains of thousands of other doctors across many different specialties throughout the Unites States for assistance.

For example, as an ENT, I can post a particularly unusual patient presentation that has me stumped... for example a weird rash on the face... and post it on Sermo. Hopefully, I would than get responses from not only other ENTs across the United States but also input from dermatologists, pathologists, internal medicine, pediatrics, etc.

This kind of multi-brain access has been invaluable, especially since being a solo ENT, I do not have the benefit of having a colleague to easily bounce questions off of.

Until recently, no iPhone app was available to access this forum... until now. Mind you, only physicians are allowed access.

I am fortunate to be one of the first to test out this new iPhone app when Sermo contacted me last month regarding my interest (which I was) and here are my initial impressions when the app was released July 5, 2011.

Overall, it is a functional app that is usable in all the ways I would use it on the desktop.

The homepage is where theoretically, all the most popular destinations on Sermo is shown.

Among the homepage buttons is "Followed" which are postings that I either am following or actively participating in.  It would also be nice if there's a button to direct me to my specialty postings rather than clicking on "Posts" (which lists all postings in chronological order) or "Popular" (which lists the most popular postings in terms of activity) and than selecting "Specialty" which is the 2nd most common destination for me. "History" lists all postings or messages that I recently visited.

Adding a new posting appears to be fairly straightforward with two options... One which is triggered by taking a picture (iConsult) of an abnormality (like a CT scan or a rash) as well as one without the need for a picture (Create Post). The iConsult button is a leap forward better than what the desktop can offer. With iConsult, I can use the iPhone to take a picture, add a brief background history, and post whereas with the desktop, you would have to take a picture, transfer to the computer, logon to Sermo, and add the photo manually when creating a new post. The iConsult has resulted in the addition of a new section on Sermo... when I last checked, there's already been 5 postings to this section.

With any postings, I can add a comment easily or view a brief bio by selecting on the commenter's user handle.

All in all, a great free app currently available for the iPhone only.

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How to Use an EpiPen??? There's An App for That!

No kidding...

The makers of the EpiPen have created an app that works on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch called MyEpiPenApp.

Within this app, you’ll find:

• A video demonstrating how to use an EpiPen Auto-Injector
• A quick slideshow (User Guide) to help you visually walk someone through the three steps of an EpiPen injection
• The ability for you and your healthcare professional to create multiple allergy profiles listing allergens to avoid and symptoms that may indicate an allergic emergency
• The ability to share the User Guide and your allergy profile(s) with anyone via Email

MyEpiPenApp may be used without entering any information that directly identifies you. Information that you record is stored only on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Dey Pharma, L.P. does not collect personal information when you use the MyEpiPenApp application.

Visit the App Store to download now.

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INOVA Health System ER Wait Times iPhone App

A reader informed me that INOVA Health System has developed a free iPhone app called InovaER that provides wait times of all 9 emergency rooms within its health system throughout Northern Virginia. The app was released Aug 4, 2010.

Pretty cool! Hopefully other hospital systems including Fauquier Hospital will join with other regional hospitals (Culpeper, Warren, Prince William, Haymarket) to create a similar program.

Download the app here.

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Convert Your iPhone/iPod Into A Hearing Aid With EarTrumpet App!

This fascinating iPhone app called EarTrumpet was developed in collaboration with the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at University of California Irvine. The app claims to convert your iPhone/iPod into a hearing aid of sorts (hearing enhancer app is the term they use) via headphones with a built-in microphone (the ear buds that come with the iPhone work just fine). In essence, the microphone will pick up the surrounding sound and the app will instantly amplify the sound and play it into the headphones. The degree of amplification is customizable via the app.

Hearing testing is also available.

As per the manufacturer website, the EarTrumpet features include
• use of the built-in microphone on the supplied iPhone ear buds
• allows the user to select which frequencies to boost.
• choose the left or right ear to amplify
• store custom profiles once balance and equalization settings have been selected

You can download the app here which sells for $1.99 (much less than traditional hearing aids which go for $1000 and higher). Watch the tutorial of how the app works below.

On a further note, EarTrumpet was created by Allen Foulad, a medical student.

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Fauquier Hospital Medical Directory WebApp Created

A new mobile phone WebApp has been created specifically for cell phones called "Fauquier Med". It provides a listing of all the physicians on staff at Fauquier Hospital broken down by last name, specialty, and practice group. Commonly used hospital numbers are also listed.

The WebApp was created specifically for the iPhone, though other mobile smartphone users (Blackberry and Google Android) should also be able to use without difficulty.

Directions to add to at least your iPhone is shown below. Hope patients and physicians find this useful!

Step 1: Open Safari.
Step 2: Type in the Address Bar: www.FauquierHealth.mobi The WebApp will now load up.
Step 3: The WebApp will now load up. Click on the “+” sign on the bottom.
Step 4: Click on the button “Add to Home Screen”
Step 5: Click on the “Add” button.
Step 6: You now have the WebApp on your application screen!

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Feeling Dizzy or Having Vertigo? There's an iPhone App for That!!!

On April 22, 2010, Clearwater Clinical Limited released an iPhone application that helps clinicians diagnose and perform the Epley maneuver in patients with BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo).

The way it works is by placing the iPhone over the patient's forehead and than following the instructions as shown on the iPhone through each of the Epley steps.

When I tried it out, it does seem to correctly take the patient thru the appropriate steps... however, I would add one more step. Place a tissue between the iPhone and patient's forehead before use (for sanitary reasons).

Click here to download the (FREE) app from iTunes!

Click here to read more about dizziness in general.

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IPhone App for Tinnitus (White Noise)

While scanning for new iPhone apps of interest for ENT uses, I came across one called "White Noise." In essence, this program produces background white noise to help in noisy environments, but can just as easily be used to help reduce tinnitus. As many tinnitus sufferers are aware, the tinnitus is loudest when the environment is very quiet. White noise helps in this situation reduce a person's awareness of tinnitus.

The iPhone app alows one to customize the type of noise (waterfall, jungle, rain, etc) and for how long it should play for. There's other features where one can customize the sound itself (volume, balance, pitch) depending on the sound selected.

Click here to check it out on iTunes!

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iPhone App for Food Allergies!

It recently came to my attention of a new iPhone app that addresses food allergies. The app is called Allergy Guard and comes in two versions (one free and one paid).

Click here to check it out in iTunes.

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Fauquier ENT iPhone App Sold Thru iTunes!

Well... soon... someday...

There's a nifty website called AppMakr that creates a customized iPhone app based on Blog articles, YouTube feeds, and Twitter accounts via keywords or a web address. Though one can play around with the customized iPhone application virtually on a computer for free, to actually publish the app onto iTunes and download to an iPhone costs a bit of money. $199.99 to be exact.

You can play around with our virtual iPhone application here.

Once we hit over 100 subscriptions to our blog and/or 500 followers on our twitter account, we'll consider actually creating this iPhone app you can use on an iPhone (sold thru iTunes).

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