In the early 1990s, the HEEADSSS screener was developed by Dr. J.M. Goldenring and colleagues. HEEADSSS stands for Home, Education/Employment, Eating, Activities, Drugs, Sexual health, Suicide, and Safety. Since the initial release, the questions were updated in 2004, and more recently in 2014, a 3.0 version involving more social media based questions was developed. The app is advocated by most national groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Most providers are taught this screening tool in medical school or residency.
A team of providers in Britain, with a grant from Health Education England, has brought the HEEADSSS screening to mobile devices via an interactive app. The app can be used anywhere in the world, but the developers have customized it to England. When you first log into the app (which requires your name and email address for unknown reasons), it prompts you to select which region in England you practice medicine. Once you begin the screening, the app asks you if you discovered any issues for a particular domain. If you select “yes,” the app provides links to national and regional resources specific to that HEEADSSS domain. It works flawlessly! Furthermore, you can text or email these resources to your patient. If only we had something like this for the U.S. by zip code!
Overall, the HEEADSSS app is a perfect tool for adolescent medicine in England. The app is an outstanding example of taking a basic screener like HEEADSSS and improving upon it via the regional and national resources for each section of the acronym. Even though the app may seem only applicable to providers in England, the HEEADSSS acronym is used around the world so this app is a fantastic tool for all primary care providers.
Likes
- HEEADSSS screener now in easy-to-use app format
- Regional/national resources for each section; can text/email resources to patients
- Available for Android
Dislikes
- Resources limited to England
- Not much information listed for each resource
- Email address necessary for app registration
This post originally appeared on iMedicalApps.com
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
