A dull and monotonous waiting hall, the long queues, desperation to get inside the doctor’s chamber, gloomy faces of ailing patients- this is the picture one would imagine while paying visit to a hospital. However, credits to the booming mobile app development industry that this scenario is drastically changing. Smartphones, when used as health devices, have the potential to become powerful well-being tools. Not only have advancements allowed us to use them as diagnostic devices, but they have also made health care more accessible. As the mHealth domain continues to get advanced, the currently available 318,000 apps (Source: Liquid State) can be broadly divided into three main categories:
- Fitness apps are the ones that help us to count calories, track our sleep patterns and calm our minds. They have also made health monitoring and training more convenient by allowing us to create personalized profiles. By making it easier to input what we’re consuming, how much we’re moving, and our general lifestyle habits, they also encourage us to lead healthier lives.
- Telemedicine apps provide virtual patient care by licensed doctors. A doctor can remotely track your symptoms through a video chat, find out the cause for your pain and also prescribe medicines if required. Telemedicine apps have increased the accessibility to healthcare using video chat even in remotest locations without a primary care center. You can reach out to a physician anytime and anywhere around the clock without any restrictions.
- Health management apps assist individuals in monitoring their own conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, pregnancy, mental health, and more. In some cases, they also act as point of collaboration by letting patients share their personal medical records with healthcare providers. Another important area of mobile health includes testing which can help in early detection of certain fatal diseases and infections eventually saving millions of lives every year.
Global downloads of these apps exceeded 400 million in 2018 and has been increasing a dramatic rate since then. Needless to say that the experience of mobile health app technology is improving patient care by introducing better ways of monitoring and diagnosing conditions. As smartphones and digital devices become more prevalent, their patient-centered approach is making care more timely and holistic.