Thursday, August 18, 2011

Mobile Apps for Health

Would you like to use an app to book a doctors appointment just like you might do on Expedia or Travelocity? Would you like to have your health information accessible in an app so that you could access when needed (ie., blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI) at a doctor's office? Would you use an app to work with a virtual fitness trainer or weight management coach?  If you could, what type of app would you want to use for your health?

As smart phones continue to advance their functionality, consumers are being afforded more and more opportunities to "access" information and automate their traditional in-person services. Although there may be disadvantages to this remote approach, consumers and vendors alike are seeing the benefits of using mobile devices to connect with each other.  With this, what type of health app would you like to better manage aspects of your health care needs? Would it be a scheduling tool, a content tool, a tracking tool, or another type of tool?

If you are currently using one of the health apps on the market, please share your experience with me. I would be very interested in learning about your experience.




11 comments:

  1. An app that contains your personal blood work results, radiological results, vaccine records, and recent vital signs would be an asset to anyone. This would be useful when visiting a specialist, switching primary care doctors, or even just for school forms. Many times, physicians request this information from another physician, however it is not received in a timely manner. This information is also useful in the ER. Consider a patient that has sarcoidosis in which they have multiple nodules though out their lung. If they are in the ER, a chest x-ray reading may be falsely read as lung cancer, however with results from previous x-rays, this would be avoided.

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  2. I agree with Jill
    in addition if the app had the ability to sync with the users dr's database and was updated automatically without manual input that would be even better
    As for apps I currently use I have webmd. Cures a-z. And a few fitness apps that allow me to create different exercise plans and view exercises and their functions
    I don't use them often but do keep for reference

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  3. I would use an app that has my medical info. I'd would love to be able to get to that info quickly when I need it Also wanted to let you know that my brother in law, who has struggled with his weight for years, finally lost weight successfully with a weight loss app. He loved it.

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  4. I would use an app that would act as a scheduling tool to book and/or cancel appointments. Maybe this app could also remind you to make your yearly appointments.

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  5. These are all good ideas - especially the scheduling tool that could remind you to make/keep appointments. I would also like a fitness app that told me what workout to do what day (based on my personal goals, fitness level, etc.) and provided targets to reach, visuals for how to do quick stuff with weights, mileage, etc. I get bored running but don't have the time to invest in thinking about alternative activities to stay fit. If it also involved some method for accountability that would be a big plus! (like having to log what you actually did)

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  6. I know there are probably tons of apps out there right now however I am unfamiliar with them. I would use a Health & Fitness App that is data driven. I would like to be able to log a detailed food diary plus a detailed fitness diary. It would then be nice to be able to run weekly/monthly and annual reports based on the date that has been inputted. For example, Mike ate 100 Apples (or pieces of fruit) in 2011, ate fast food 10 times, exercised 200 days. Last year I kept a written log every day for two months of the exercises i did. I did not get to crazy. example: Monday 8/1/2010 - 2 mile walk, 8/2/2010 - Off, 8/3/2010 - Core training, 8/4/2010 - 2 hour Surf Session, 8/5/210 - Core training and 1 hour bicycle ride. It would be more efficient to able to input all of this dat straight into the phone.

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  7. How about an app that tells you what fruits and veggies are currently on sale at the stores you shop in along with a few recipes (with nutritional information) on how to prepare them?

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  8. A phone app that requires an adaptor to your phone. The App would possibly calculate heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, blood glucose levels, and perhaps blood pressure. It may be hard to calculate all of these with one app but hey yo never know. If you can plug a guitar into an iphone I am sure some of these can be accomplished. Once again, the app would be dat driven this way you can print reports or go to your doctor and show him/her a 30 day workup of your data. Heart rate might be the easiest of all of the above mentioned ideas and can be widely used by a person with any health status. Track heart rate before, during and after physical activity? That would be cool.

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  9. a dietary journal... a place to record what I'm eating throughout the day... I need accountability at my fingertips. Lori

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  10. Someone passed this to me on Twitter - great discussion on patient data...
    http://bit.ly/mDeL6i

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  11. I love the idea of a scheduling app. I would also like to access my medical information quickly. My doctor's office offered Relay Health, but it was a little complicated to use. I set up the initial information, but didn't quite understand how to complete the set-up. I basically just gave up.

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