6 health news apps that help you monitor breaking medical news

Downloading health news apps to your mobile device is a great way to access breaking health news articles.

Whether you’re reading the news on your phone as a welcome break in your day, or having a quick read while multitasking your other writing projects, having several apps running on your device will ensure you’re notified when the latest topical debates, medical breakthroughs and industry updates are released.

News apps are useful for health & medical writers. Until recently, you may have used traditional methods for curating quality health news articles from reliable medical industry websites, medical magazines, journals and medical institutions. The process can be time consuming, relying on gauging content based on headlines, having access to journals or subscriptions to news sites – as well as knowing where to look.

Recent advances in mobile medical technology have seen health apps support the flow of information in the health industry, becoming a new digital tool to help complement traditional searches for health news.

Here are six great apps to consider – and while some are free, others may require upfront payment or a magazine subscription.

1. Health News – Newsfusion

Newsfusion is a startup organization that has developed several news apps to cover the latest updates from a variety of industries, such as cyber security and technology. Their app for health news curates health news articles from a variety of quality news sources even allowing you to block sources you prefer to filter.

Newsfusion’s health news app is a great app to keep you updated for new research and FDA-approved medications news announcements. You can set-up automatic push notifications to regularly notify you when new items have been added for you to read and select specific areas of health you are interested in, if you are working within a niche area of health.

Cost: FREE
Available for: iOS 7.0 and up and Android

2. Medscape MedPulse App

Every health writer with a mobile device should download the Medscape Medpulse health news app for their toolkit. The app is created by the well known news portal Medscape and is updated daily with their published medical news articles, medical news based on what is trending on Medscape’s Today on Twitter feed and selected blogs. You can also tailor news announcements that are clinically relevant and beneficial to your interests.

The Medscape Medpulse app allows you to share interesting news articles on your social media accounts with colleagues and the interface is clean and user-friendly, keeping it simple to use.

Cost: FREE (requires you to sign up with a Medscape account)
Available for: iOS and Android

3. WHO Info Health News App

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has become a trusted source of reporting on promoting and health systems within international health.

Although they haven’t developed their own health news app, you can keep updated with their latest news articles that are published from the WHO website news stories using RSS (really simple syndication) feeds from the website to find the most popular news articles. All you need to download is a news reader app for a RSS feeder to open the URL feed and access the articles.

Keep in mind though; WHO News is limited on the types of RSS feeds that are available.

Cost: $ variable depending on the news reader program
Available for: Android and iOS

4. Science News Magazine App

If you’re a regular reader of the magazine, you will love the Science News app. You can download the iPad app for free with a paid subscription or get your first issue of the magazine free when you download their app.

Science News magazine covers current issues from a variety of science disciplines, for example ranging from climate change, astronomy or genetics. Their articles are really interesting, well written and worth reading to keep up-to-date with new research or opinions in science. I usually enjoy reading their articles on my iPad first thing in the morning to ease into my day.

Cost: included free in the cost of monthly (US $4.99) or yearly magazine (US $49.99) subscription
Available for: iOS

5. Internal Medicine News App

Internal Medicine News, owned by Elsevier, was originally published as a bimonthly newspaper in 1968. Their evidence-based app distributes news articles on healthcare policy and research development that influences patient care. The articles published are read mainly by internists, however they can be really useful to read to inform you of regulatory, legislative or economic changes in the medical industry.

Cost: Free
Available for: iOs and Android

6. NEJM This Week

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is one of the top medical journals and the NEJM this week health news app publishes the latest medical research from NEJM published in the last seven days, including review articles and perspectives.

Having the latest quality research from a high impact journal at your fingertips is really useful, especially if you’re researching a niche area within health and would like to keep updated with high-quality evidence.

Cost: Free (for a limited time, in selected countries)
Available for: iOS

Do you use health news apps to help you monitor the latest medical news? Let us know in the comments below.