The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has released a new app and web-based tool to help health care providers and primary care clinicians and to “identify, prioritize, and offer the screening, counseling, and preventive medicine services that are appropriate for their patients”. The app, Prevention TaskForce, is available for mobile devices (iOS and Android) as well as a web-based application for desktop use.
The Prevention TaskForce app or web tool can be searched by specific patient characteristics such as age, sex, and selected behavioral risk factors. While this tool is not meant to replace clinical judgement and individualized patient care, it can be helpful in reminding providers about the screening or preventive medicine services that are appropriate for their patients. For example, if data is entered for a female patient, age 40, 5’ 5”, 150 pounds who uses tobacco products and is not sexually active, the app will recommend 10 possible screenings including an inquiry about Tobacco Smoking Cessation program. It offers evidence for specific therapeutic interventions for smoking cessations and additional resources for the provider and patients. Other screenings or interventions will be recommend based on the submitted patient characteristics.
To download the app for mobile devices, visit their website or search “USPSTF Prevention TaskForce” in the app store for your platform.