Patient safety app reaches 12,500 downloads

A free app that puts medical and safety guidelines at the fingertips of junior doctors has been downloaded more than 12,500 times around the world.

The Patient Safety Manual contains more than 50 safety and clinical guidelines, calculates clinical scores and helps doctors keep track of a patient’s progress. It has been used in countries as far away as Brazil.

Dr Adrian Hopper, a consultant physician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust who helped design the app, says: “The Patient Safety Manual is there to support junior doctors as and when they need it.

“Medics often need to look up guidelines, but newly qualified doctors are not as familiar with these, so they often have to refer back to books and manuals. With this app, the information is all there at their fingertips, ensuring medical safety and saving time.”

First developed in 2011 the app is currently in its third version. It was updated this summer to be supported on Android devices as well as iOS.

Dr Chris Floyd, a clinical research fellow at Guy’s and St Thomas’ began designing the app with his colleague Dr Steven Williams when they realised how much it would have helped them as students and medical professionals. Their expertise in app design was previously developed designing educational apps through their company Cranworth Medical Ltd.

Dr Floyd says: “Having been a medical student and appreciating the needs of doctors, I knew that this app could be an invaluable tool.

“The app ensures evidence based care is delivered at the bedside, allowing doctors to be more focused on the patient and what is in their best interest.

“We plan to develop more apps for other areas of the Trust and are already in the process of some very exciting developments.”

The Patient Safety Manual was the first UK smartphone app aimed at patient safety for junior doctors when it was first launched.

“It’s astonishing that the app has been downloaded so widely. We always believed in the idea of it and its necessity, but I don’t think we expected it to be such a success outside of our Trust,” added Dr Hopper.

To download the free app please visit:

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/patient-safety-manual/id448720885?mt=8

Android:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cranworthmedical.patientsafety&hl=en_G