Damien Goldberg, MD

My latest favorite apps for my professional needs are Millennial Eye (BMC) and ShoutMD (Strathspey Crown). I also have a few must-have apps for travel and leisure. I find Waze to be imperative when driving in Los Angeles. Traffic there is always a beast to be tamed, and this amazing app guides me along some of the greatest secret routes. I feel like Steve Martin in the movie L.A. Story driving through people’s back alleys and yards.

When traveling to meetings, I use the Uber app and either my American or United Airlines app. I find these apps make travel so much easier. Along with the convenience of bringing my rollerboard suitcase, I do not have to break out credit cards for cabs, and I never print boarding passes anymore, which saves me time.

For fun, I use Surfline (Surfline/Wavetrack) to determine where I am going to surf on a given day. I also play in an ESPN fantasy football league with my office and some friends, and the ESPN app makes it easy to use and tweak my team. With the Amazon Prime app, I can order certain items and receive them in 2 to 3 hours with free shipping. That is just awesome!

With all of these great apps, I find I spend less and less time sitting at my desk to get information and more time enjoying life.  

Audrey Talley Rostov, MD

One of my must-have apps is the AbeoCoder (Abeo). I use this to convert International Classification of Diseases 9 codes to version 10. I find the app to be user friendly and very easy to search for diagnoses. I frequently use Kayak, TripAdvisor, and Jetsetter for high-end discount travel. Other favorites include the Flywheel app (Flywheel Software) to reserve Flywheel spin and Flybarre classes nationwide and the Drybar app (Drybar Holdings) to schedule hair appointments for blowdry services at Drybar salons nationwide. 

Robert J. Weinstock, MD

Smartphones and handheld digital devices have become indispensable. I do not go anywhere without my phone, and oftentimes, it is even more important than my wallet.  My use of apps continues to grow, and in addition to the usual suspects like Facebook, Yelp, Kayak, Spotify, and Waze, I have a growing list of new apps that I use on a daily basis. 

One of these is SailFlow (WeatherFlow), which allows me to get instant real-time access to wind patterns and trends anywhere on the globe. For anyone who is nautically or ocean minded, SailFlow is an indispensable tool for knowing sea conditions, wave heights, wind speed, and the direction and forecast models for a 10-day period.

I also use apps that allow me to monitor control systems in my house. For example, Sonos is an amazing, cost-effective, multifunctional, and practical way to control what I listen to at home. Sonos can be linked to SiriusXM (SiriusXM), Spotify, Pandora (Pandora Media), and conventional radio. Volume can also be controlled if desired in different rooms and different zones of my house.

Also for my home, I use the Honeywell Total Connect app (Honeywell) to control the thermostat and the Digital Watchdog app for remote observation with the video cameras inside and outside my house.

For finances, I like the ETrade app. I can monitor my stock portfolio, make trades, and follow the stock market in real time on the go. I find it much more functional than sitting down in front of a computer to access the stock market activity and to execute transactions.  

William F. Wiley, MD

Since college, I have had trouble waking up easily and have hit my snooze button multiple times. This habit may be OK for people who live alone, but with my early waking schedule, multiple snooze alarms put stress on my marriage. The Sleep Cycle app (Northcube) creates an intelligent alarm clock that analyzes my sleep. It wakes me up in the lightest phase of sleep, which ultimately allows me to create better sleeping patterns and wake feeling more refreshed. Sleep Cycle has helped train me to wake more regularly and naturally and not rely on the snooze button. Plus, the app has some cool features. It can track things like coffee intake and determine how caffeine affects sleep patterns. The weather and exercise activities can also be monitored as variables that affect sleep patterns.

Another must-have app is DocuSign, which is a simple and secure way to electronically sign documents and/or collect signatures from others. With smartphones and an on-the-go lifestyle, it can be challenging to receive, print, sign, fax, and/or email documents in a safe, reliable, and efficient manner. From my experience with the app, DocuSign seamlessly integrates with digital documents for simple signing and emailing. Before using this app, documents would often become buried in my inbox and go unsigned. Now, within minutes, I can safely email a signed copy of a document. DocuSign will pay for itself easily after you “ink” a consulting agreement or protect one of your prized ideas through a quickly signed nondisclosure agreement. n

Damien Goldberg, MD
• in private practice at Wolstan & Goldberg Eye Associates, Torrance, California
• (310) 543-2611; goldbed@hotmail.com
• financial interest: none acknowledged

Audrey Talley Rostov, MD
• partner, Northwest Eye Surgeons, Seattle
• SightLife global partner
• (206) 528-6000; atalleyrostov@nweyes.com
• financial interest: none acknowledged

Robert J. Weinstock, MD
• director of cataract and refractive surgery, Eye Institute of West Florida, Largo, Florida
• rjweinstock@yahoo.com; Twitter @EyeInstituteWFl
• financial interest: none acknowledged

William F. Wiley, MD
• private practice at the Cleveland Eye Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
• (440) 526-1974
• financial interest: none acknowledged