Click here for link to the App in iTunes

Overall rating: 3/5 based on the design of the app, its utility and software bugs present.

Overview:
The Emergency Medical Spanish App for Ipad by Mavro Inc. is a nice easy app that allows clinicians and faculty to use basic Spanish skills in a setting where translators are not available. The general structure of the app is designed to allow clinicians to quickly access common medical questions and phrases that are pre-recorded in spanish.The pre-recorded questions are stored under 15 color-coded topics pertaining to a medical need such as, Chest Pain, Stroke, Personal Information or Introduction. A healthcare provider can select one a desired question, written in English and in Spanish, and hear the selected phrase being spoken in Spanish. My overall impression of this app is that it is a quick tool for a short-term solution and I rate it a 3 out of 5. My rating is based on the design of the app, its utility and software bugs present.

Best Features > Yes/No Questions:
The best feature about this app is that it is quick and usually accomplishes the users goal. At best, a medical student, clinician, or faculty member can use this app to ask “yes” or “no” questions when there is a shortage or lack of translators. For example, if there is a shortage of translators in the ER department asking questions about chest pain and respiratory difficulties could help the clinician provide immediate care. Additionally, in a clinical setting, the health care provider can quickly obtain past medical history. One of my favorite but simple features is the ability to create flashcards with selected phrases. Students and faculty can build knowledge of basic questions and phrases and can test their skills on a daily basis.

Best Features > Bookmarking:
My second favorite feature is the ability to bookmark certain phrases. Bookmarking phrases allows a the user to build a quick short script that is in a logical order. The user essentially builds a script by book marking phrases. The user can then learn to use these questions in consecutive order or choose to play the questions in order for the patient to answer.

Usefulness / Utility:
This application can be useful when trying to obtain “yes” or “no” answers. Really, the application cannot translate the spoken response of the patient and therefore, detailed information cannot be obtained unless asked in a simple format. The makers of this app acknowledge that its purpose is for emergency and temporary use in clinical setting.

Areas for Improvement:
I would like to see other options in the app that would allow the user to create more than one page of bookmarks. This would be useful to generate “scripts” for different settings. I do not know if it is within the scope of the app maker but I would really like an application that would translate the patients response to certain medical questions that are more open ended. The only problem I found with the software is that it crashed frequently and displayed error messages.