iPhone App Developed for Adult Immunization Schedules

Immunization Advisor home screen (American College of Physicians)

The American College of Physicians (ACP) in Philadelphia has released an application for the iPhone and iPad that provides clinicians with the latest guidance on vaccines for their patients. The free app, for which no Android version is yet available, was written for ACP by medical systems developer Cientis Technologies and Web app designer Hot Tomali Communications, both based in Vancouver.

Health care providers can search the Immunization Advisor, as the app is called, by age or underlying medical circumstance, or browse a vaccine library to determine the vaccines their adult patients need. The app also provides late immunization news and updates from ACP.

The Immunization Advisor is based on adult immunization schedules issued annually by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the latest guidance released in February 2012. While the document is comprehensive, many physicians have found the CDC immunization schedule confusing and difficult to navigate. In addition, each time the schedule was updated, a lot of time is needed to update and distribute a new document to its users.

CDC’s latest updates for licensed vaccines includes changes of recommendations for tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) and tetanus, diphtheria vaccines. Updates also include changes for human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B vaccines. Other revisions cover vaccines for zoster (shingles), trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine, and measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Development of the app was funded by grants from Sanofi Pasteur, Merck Vaccines, and Pfizer. ACP says the app has been downloaded more than 3,000 times from iTunes.

Read more:

• Personalized Health Informatics Technology in Development
•  FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Mobile Medical Phone Apps
• iPhone App Helps Doctors Deal with Cardiac Emergencies
• New iPhone App Offers HIV Drug Info

*     *     *