The New England Journal of Medicine has launched an iPhone app and judging by the reviews it’s been very well received thus far.
As Dr. Bryan Vartabedian points out on his blog 33 Charts, “the way to a doctor’s heart is through his smartphone” (perhaps doubly so for cardiologists?) and the application’s developers have certainly understood and embraced this.
Not only is this an excellent markeitng move by the Journal, it may also be a good thing for patients too. Access to Journals by clinicians increased dramatically when they were originally ported to the web, however “webified” versions certainly do not leverage technology beyond “distribution” in most cases. Not so with this next generation of medical journals.
The integration of multimedia, pod casts and other communication and collaboration channels behind a fire-walled website limited thier accessibility and therefore effectiveness, however now Doctors can browse the Journal anywhere, download audio material to be listened to via the iPod portion of the iPhone and collaborate via social media immediatly with thier Colleagues.
This means, more clinicians keeping up-to-date, more collaboration and greater distribution of information, data and ideas.
With the advent of the iPad and other mobile technologies, it will be interesting to see how medical journals, now faced with the same challenges as other traditional media adapt, survive or become irrelevant over the coming years. Clearly, the NEJM has set the bar high for all others going forward.
Resources:
Download the app directly here,
Read a great review on 33 Charts.
