Consumers Should Beware of Untested Dermatological Apps

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Oct. 3, 2013 - PRLog -- Researchers, who published a new study (http://archderm.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1741083) in the Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology, are right on target with their warnings (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/26/us-health-dermatology-app-risk-idUSBRE98P0KN20130926) that consumers should be cautious about using untested mobile apps, rather than physicians, to diagnose dermatological conditions, said Art Papier, MD, CEO of Logical Images, the Rochester-based company that created the nation’s only widely used diagnostic decision tool,VisualDx (http://www.visualdx.com/).

The researchers reviewed mobile apps aimed mostly at the consumer market and found only a few of them were created by medical professionals. VisualDx is an online resource and mobile app developed by physicians for physicians to improve their diagnostic accuracy for dermatological conditions, dentistry, pediatrics and more.

“VisualDx uses a patented visual diagnostic process and system to sort through more than 25,000 peer-reviewed images and content to provide health care professionals with the information they need to avoid misdiagnoses, which is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.,” said Dr. Papier. “VisualDx is scientifically proven to improve diagnostic accuracy by 120% (http://dermatology.cdlib.org/1703/1_originals/1_10-00308/...).”

Professionals using VisualDx enter symptoms, medical history, recent travel and other information into the system. Based on the information entered, VisualDx quickly delivers a highly accurate list of potential diagnoses, a series of photographs against which to match patients’ current conditions and the recommended treatments.

Logical Images has built an exhaustive library of peer-reviewed medical images with a special emphasis on covering all different ages, skin types and skin color. VisualDx relies on this database to provide diagnoses and treatments for more than 1,250 diagnoses. It is available as an online and mobile resource that works with the iPhone, Android and iPad.

VisualDx is the only diagnostic decision support system to be widely adopted by clinicians nationally, with almost half the nation’s medical schools and more than 1,500 hospitals and large clinics, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, relying on it to reduce medical error by ensuring accurate diagnoses.

Harvard University Medical School students ranked VisualDx among their five favorite medical apps, and it’s received several awards, including recognition as Category Leader in the Clinical Decision Support - Referential category in the 2012 and 2011 Best in KLAS Awards. In addition, VisualDx received Pride Institute’s “Best of Class” Dental Technology Award.

To see a video demonstration the VisualDx system, please visit:

http://www.visualdx.com/features/video-overview

About Logical Images

Logical Images, based in Rochester, NY, is the industry leader in visual diagnostic decision support, providing affordable, fast and widely used mobile apps and online resources scientifically proven to improve diagnostic accuracy while also educating and empowering patients. The company’s products include VisualDx (VisualDx.com), a mobile app and online clinical decision support system for diagnostic accuracy (http://www.visualdx.com/), and Skinsight (Skinsight.com), the Web’s leading consumer skin health and wellness resource.