These apps can help you find evidence-based answers, generate prior authorization requests, create patient education materials, and more in seconds.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) can save physicians time in several practical ways, including drafting prior authorization requests, explaining test results in more patient-friendly language, and serving as a scribe.1 But the burgeoning number of AI-enhanced apps is difficult to sort through, and choosing the best tool for the task can be even more daunting. It’s important to choose wisely because AI programs are only as good as the data they’re trained on and are known to sometimes create false information. Programmers call these “hallucinations,” and they can include creating citations for articles that don’t exist.2
This article attempts to guide physicians to relatively reliable and trustworthy tools by reviewing four medical apps using FPM’s “SPPACES” criteria. Each of them is a five-star app in my opinion, but for more context I’ve included their App Store (Apple) and Google Play (Android) user ratings as of May 30, 2025. Ratings are based on a scale of 1–5, with five being the best.
SPPACES APP REVIEW CRITERIA
- S – Source or developer of app
- P – Platforms available
- P – Pertinence to primary care practice
- A – Authoritativeness/accuracy/currency of information
- C – Cost
- E – Ease of use
- S – Sponsor(s)
KEY POINTS
- These four mobile apps have artificial intelligence (AI) features that can help with clinical decision making, writing patient education materials, and even CME.
- AI programs are only as accurate as the data they’re trained on. Some are better than others for specific tasks, e.g., Pathway is trained on only peer-reviewed journals and therefore best for clinical questions.
- As with all AI tools, it’s recommended to check their output before you put it into practice.
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