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August 12, 2020

Invest In Your Health With Healthcare Mobile Apps



There are over 40,000 healthcare mobile apps available in app stores. With the vast quantity, it isn’t easy to know which mobile healthcare applications are best suited for what sought after functionality. Healthcare apps for patients allow users to take greater control of their care by performing tasks such as health summaries, appointment scheduling, provider messaging, urgent care wait times, physician search, patient education, bill pay, and more. Patients can also search for apps according to desired outcomes, such as weight loss or diagnosis.



Communicate with your primary care provider 

Mobile healthcare applications allow patients to contact their physicians on their own terms. Bidirectional patient messaging allows patients to engage in a quick consultation when they cannot wait to make an appointment to see their provider. Sometimes a health-related query does not warrant a full consultation; messaging a provider or the practice staff may be proven to be more suitable in these cases. Some healthcare apps for patients include a telehealth functionality allowing patients to engage in full consultation with their primary care provider from the convenience of their own home. Doctor On Demand is a telehealth mobile app that allows patients to connect with board-certified healthcare practitioners of a multitude of specialties online over live video from a smartphone or tablet 24/7.

Improve medication adherence 

Studies have shown that mobile healthcare applications help increase treatment adherence, and they are an appropriate method for managing medication at home. Mobile health apps with prescription-refill requests give patients the ability to electronically request refill prescriptions to be forwarded to the appropriate pharmacy, decreasing the risk of patients running out of their medication, and going without them. E-prescribing allows physicians to handle prescription requests quickly, helping both patients and practices. Physicians can monitor medication adherence by patients and send reminders or message the patient if required. Certain healthcare apps for patients provide a feature to track medications and also set up reminder notifications to make sure patients don’t forget to take their medications. Medisafe is a pill reminder and medication tracker that also alerts patients of refills and doctor appointments.

Improved patient health behaviors

It’s predicted that healthcare mobile apps will have an important role to play in empowering patients to manage their own health through digitally-enabled care pathways while providing additional benefits to healthcare delivery systems. Patients will be able to use a medical app to manage their health; it has been found that some applications have the potential to replace some GP tasks (9 out of 12 tasks)

Healthcare apps for patients can be leveraged to improve patient health behaviors such as routine check-ups and preventative care, such as cancer screenings and blood pressure checks. mySugr is a diabetes healthcare mobile app that helps patients track their diet, medication, blood glucose, and insulin levels.

Patient education 

Mobile healthcare applications with patient education functionality provide patients with access to medical resources and other health-related educational information provided by a health authority from any location and at any time via a mobile device. Patients can find the information they may have forgotten after a consultation, spoken information can be overwhelming, and a handful of pamphlets can often be misplaced. Patient education such as real-time publication of urgent care or emergency department wait times can help patients adequately prepare before their visit. Timely delivery of patient education through smartphones is a predictor for improved outcomes. Belong.life provides people with cancer and their families a personalized solution that includes connecting them with healthcare providers and people with a similar diagnosis. The app also provides education on the diagnosis as well as information about clinical trials available. 

Access medical records

The Cures Act signed into law on December 13, 2016, ensures that patients have access to and control of their own entire health records. Access to medical records by the patient and other practitioners assist in emergency situations and hospitalizations, it also reduces unnecessary imaging tests and procedures. Studies predict that access to clinical data via a patient portal smartphone application would allow individuals to understand better and manage their health information. Patients could be assured of their data accuracy, shop for personalized healthcare services, and seamlessly share their electronic health records with new providers. Healow is a healthcare mobile app that provides patients with access to their appointments, lab results, vitals, medications, and other personal health data all within one app. 

Manage appointments/finances

Patients have become accustomed to managing multiple aspects of their lives from their mobile phones. Mobile applications provide users with self-service features they have become accustomed to as consumers in other industries such as scheduling vacations and shopping online. Similar features can be found within mobile healthcare applications. Patients often live busy lives, someone working a full-time, Monday to Friday job may not have the opportunity to wait on hold with their doctor’s office in order to make an appointment. Certain mobile health applications allow patients to conveniently schedule appointments online without assistance. Other applications provide patients with the ability to view medical account details, including itemized costs, and to pay medical bills online. Practo is an app that allows you to make an appointment with a healthcare provider from the comfort of your own home via a mobile application, reducing wait times over the phone. Medical billing is confusing even for healthcare practitioners. As a patient it’s almost impossible to decipher what you are being charged for and if your medical insurance will cover any of your medical expenses. Rexpay provides patients with a means to manage and pay their medical bills, and the app also organizes and makes medical bills easy to understand. 

Multiple studies have shown that when patients are more engaged in their healthcare via a healthcare mobile app, their overall condition improves. Whether it be as simple as getting more information on what ails them or being able to contact a doctor when they require it, there are thousands of apps available with features to help patients take greater responsibility for their own health. 



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