Mobile medical apps for patient education: a graded review of available dermatology apps.

The utilization of mobile applications (apps) as educational resources for patients highlights the need for an objective method of evaluating the quality of health care-related mobile apps. In this study, a quantified rubric was developed to objectively grade publicly available dermatology mobile apps with the primary focus of patient education. The rubric included 5 criteria thought to be most important in evaluating the adequacy of these apps in relaying health information to patients: educational objectives, content, accuracy, design, and conflict of interest. A 4-point scale was applied to each criterion. The use of this objective rubric could have implications in the evaluation and recommendation of mobile health care apps as a vital educational resource for patients.

Using Reflectance Confocal Microscopy in Skin Cancer Diagnosis.

Biopsy and histologic evaluation have been the gold standard to diagnose skin tumors. Reflectance confocal microcopy (RCM) is a noninvasive, innovative diagnostic technique that enables visualization of different skin layers at an almost histologic resolution. RCM has been proven beneficial in management of various cutaneous lesions. This article highlights the clinical significance and future of RCM to diagnose common skin cancers. However, RCM cannot replace currently standard histopathologic diagnosis. More studies are required to better compare the sensitivity and specificity of skin cancer diagnosis using RCM.