Tech Talk

Mobile App Rankings in Dermatology

Author and Disclosure Information

As technology continues to advance, so too does its accessibility to the general population. Mobile applications (apps) have become a part of the medical field, with dermatology being no exception. There are various types of dermatology apps, including teledermatology, self-surveillance, disease guide, reference, dermoscopy, conference, education, photograph storage and sharing, and journal apps, and others. In this study, we examined the types of dermatology apps targeting patients and physicians that are most popular by analyzing their rankings in the Apple App Store. We also delved deeper into the perceived benefits of the ranked apps targeting patients and the impact of physician-targeted apps on the field of dermatology.

Practice Points

  • As mobile application (app) usage increases among dermatology providers, whose demographic is shifting younger and younger, apps may become more incorporated in dermatology education. As such, it will become more critical to develop formal scientific standards.
  • The most desired dermatology apps for patients were apps that allowed them to be proactive with their health.
  • There seems to be a disconnect between the apps that are popular among patients and the scientific validity of the apps.


 

References

As technology continues to advance, so too does its accessibility to the general population. In 2013, 56% of Americans owned a smartphone versus 77% in 2017.1With the increase in mobile applications (apps) available, it is no surprise that the market has extended into the medical field, with dermatology being no exception.2 The majority of dermatology apps can be classified as teledermatology apps, followed by self-surveillance, disease guide, and reference apps. Additional types of dermatology apps include dermoscopy, conference, education, photograph storage and sharing, and journal apps, and others.2 In this study, we examined Apple App Store rankings to determine the types of dermatology apps that are most popular among patients and physicians.

METHODS

A popular app rankings analyzer (App Annie) was used to search for dermatology apps along with their App Store rankings.3 Although iOS is not the most popular mobile device operating system, we chose to evaluate app rankings via the App Store because iPhones are the top-selling individual phones of any kind in the United States.4

We performed our analysis on a single day (July 14, 2018) given that app rankings can change daily. We incorporated the following keywords, which were commonly used in other dermatology app studies: dermatology, psoriasis, rosacea, acne, skin cancer, melanoma, eczema, and teledermatology. The category ranking was defined as the rank of a free or paid app in the App Store’s top charts for the selected country (United States), market (Apple), and device (iPhone) within their app category (Medical). Inclusion criteria required a ranking in the top 1500 Medical apps and being categorized in the App Store as a Medical app. Exclusion criteria included apps that focused on cosmetics, private practice, direct advertisements, photograph editing, or claims to cure skin disease, as well as non–English-language apps. The App Store descriptions were assessed to determine the type of each app (eg, teledermatology, disease guide) and target audience (patient, physician, or both).

Another search was performed using the same keywords but within the Health and Fitness category to capture potentially more highly ranked apps among patients. We also conducted separate searches within the Medical category using the keywords billing, coding, and ICD (International Classification of Diseases) to evaluate rankings for billing/coding apps, as well as EMR and electronic medical records for electronic medical record (EMR) apps.

RESULTS

The initial search yielded 851 results, which was narrowed down to 29 apps after applying the exclusion criteria. Of note, prior to application of the exclusion criteria, one dermatology app that was considered to be a direct advertisement app claiming to cure acne was ranked fourth of 1500 apps in the Medical category. However, the majority of the search results were excluded because they were not popular enough to be ranked among the top 1500 apps. There were more ranked dermatology apps in the Medical category targeting patients than physicians; 18 of 29 (62%) qualifying apps targeted patients and 11 (38%) targeted physicians (Tables 1 and 2). No apps targeted both groups. The most common type of ranked app targeting patients was self-surveillance (11/18), and the most common type targeting physicians was reference (8/11). The highest ranked app targeting patients was a teledermatology app with a ranking of 184, and the highest ranked app targeting physicians was educational, ranked 353. The least common type of ranked apps targeting patients were “other” (2/18 [11%]; 1 prescription and 1 UV monitor app) and conference (1/18 [6%]). The least common type of ranked apps targeting physicians were education (2/11 [18%]) and dermoscopy (1/11 [9%]).

Our search of the Health and Fitness category yielded 6 apps, all targeting patients; 3 (50%) were self-surveillance apps, and 3 (50%) were classified as other (2 UV monitors and a conferencing app for cancer emotional support)(Table 3).

Our search of the Medical category for billing/coding and EMR apps yielded 232 and 164 apps, respectively; of them, 49 (21%) and 54 (33%) apps were ranked. These apps did not overlap with the dermatology-related search criteria; thus, we were not able to ascertain how many of these apps were used specifically by health care providers in dermatology.

Pages

Recommended Reading

Latex Hypersensitivity to Injection Devices for Biologic Therapies in Psoriasis Patients
MDedge Dermatology
Latex Allergy From Biologic Injectable Devices
MDedge Dermatology
Psoriasis registry study provides more data on infliximab’s infection risk
MDedge Dermatology
Risankizumab proves more effective in psoriasis than ustekinumab
MDedge Dermatology
Medication app boosts psoriasis patients’ short-term adherence
MDedge Dermatology
Infliximab biosimilar only moderately less expensive in Medicare Part D
MDedge Dermatology
Elevated type 2 diabetes risk seen in PsA patients
MDedge Dermatology
Novel oral agent shows unprecedented efficacy in psoriasis
MDedge Dermatology
Pregnancy registries are a valuable resource for dermatologists
MDedge Dermatology
No evidence of subclinical axial involvement seen in skin psoriasis
MDedge Dermatology