A proliferation of apps caters to our every need, revolutionizing the way we lead our daily lives. Similarly, there has been a remarkable increase in the number of innovative apps in the healthcare industry. These apps have transformed the way medical professionals, and patients interact. In addition, they are cost efficient, offer mobility, and overall make the lives of people seeking medical advice much easier.
Consequently, the mHealth technology market is set to experience an unprecedented growth to USD 60billion by 2020. Moreover, even the physicians laud the effectiveness of the health-focused app, with 93% of the doctors believing that the app can improve a patient’s health.
Here are six apps that have positively reshaped the healthcare industry:
- Insight optics
Insight Optics came into being after its creators discovered some staggering statistics. They found out that out of the 61 million adults in the US, who are at risk of preventable vision loss, only 50% get their eyes examined by a specialist. This entails that millions of people lose their eyesight in the United States, simply because they fail to seek specialized care.
The CEO of the app, Brock Webberman, stated that the mission of the app was to “prevent avoidable blindness”. Thus, Insight Optics provides Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) with an opportunity to offer eye exams during the routine annual complete body checkups.
The PCPs capture high-resolution images of the patient’s retina using smartphones and then connect with an ophthalmologist using the app to share the photos of the retina for evaluation. As a result, the patients gain valuable insight about their eye health, as well as whether they are due for a visit to the eye specialist or not.
- Digital Pharmacist
According to research, nearly 52% of the smartphone users search for medical-related information on the internet, which is not always the most reliable source. Digital Pharmacist aims to provide people with authentic information, about the medicines, that they would otherwise acquire directly from a pharmacist. The digitalizing of the medication’s information ensures that it is easily available to the patients while facilitating the performance of the pharmacists.
Digital Pharmacist also provides digital solutions and cloud storage to the pharmacies, in addition to enabling the pharmacists to connect with the patients via the app.
Moreover, the app empowers the pharmacists to prescribe medications, process prescription, make prescription refills, and direct the patents to the relevant medical article. Subsequently, the app offers convenience where the entire communication with a pharmacist can take place on a smartphone without traveling to the pharmacy or standing in queues.
- Medici
Medici is an innovative app that facilitates the doctor-patient relationship. The company created two mobile apps, one for the patients and one for the health care providers, which makes medical assistance more accessible to everyone. Subsequently, the patients can seek guidance from a provider in the Medici network, for a fraction of the cost that goes into visiting a doctor’s office while saving time spent commuting and waiting in the queue.
To help the doctor make a diagnosis, the patient can describe their illness, send pictures, and even video chat with the provider, if needed. The doctor then decides if the person needs to come in for a physical examination or can be prescribed medicines directly. In addition to making the entire process easy for the patients, the app also helps the doctors resolve issues quickly, saving their valuable time.
- Doctor on Demand
Majority of us have experienced a time in our lives where we are too sick to even get out of the house to visit a doctor. Doctor on Demand saves us from the frustration by offering video consultation with a doctor via the app.
The medically certified app hosts 1400 state-licensed physicians, so you can quickly connect with a doctor in case of a medical issue. In addition to treating the physical ailments such as flu and cold symptoms, allergies, pediatric issues, respiratory infections, etc. the app also offers psychological consultancy.
According to a survey, social stigma inhibited 15% of the individuals from seeking counseling from a psychologist. The app helps in providing mental health guidance to people who are reluctant to seek help otherwise.
- BrainTest
BrainTest is an intuitive app that provides cognitive screening backed by scientific research. The app was designed in partnership with Dr. Douglas Scharre, Professor of Clinical Neurology and Psychiatry, at The Ohio State University. Dr. Scharre created the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE Test), which is the basis of the app.
As the name signifies, the app allows you to conduct brain tests, including dementia test, to detect early signs of Alzheimer’s and other mental illnesses, from the comforts and privacy of your home. Once you have conducted the test, the app demonstrates your results through a video that explains your score. Using the in-built features, you can directly print your results to show them to a doctor and initiate your treatment if needed.
The app is highly useful for people who are at risk of getting Alzheimer’s due to genetic disposition and, therefore, can benefit from the timely diagnosis.
- Talkspace
Talkspace is a breakthrough app that is designed to make therapy accessible and affordable. The app provides a confidential and convenient communication channel between the user and a trained, licensed therapist.
Before you can connect with a therapist, you have to undergo free consultation. Based on the results, the app matches you with a qualified therapist, who excels in your particular issues and can best understand your needs. Following this, you can talk to your therapist via chat messaging at any time.
The app features over 1000 therapists who specialize in mental ailments such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and even marriage counseling. To use the app, you have to pay a weekly subscription fee that is far cheaper than what you would pay if you were to visit a therapist in person.
Conclusion
The apps mentioned above are changing the way the healthcare industry worked, providing accessible and affordable outlets to patients who require medical assistance. Consequently, more and more people are turning towards healthcare technology, cutting down the time and efforts needed for traditional doctor visits, without compromising on the quality of treatments.