In the past, the most immediate access a patient had to healthcare was implemented via personal doctor visits at their house. The family doctor was responsible for the tracking of the entire household’s medical history. In modern society, this method has been replaced by hailing ambulances, long waits in hospital lines and a generalized, rather than a personalized, healthcare system. A new technological innovation promises to upgrade that practice to the next level, or, as many have named it, Health 2.0. Indeed, tracking apps, with their multiple capacities, are gaining rapid popularity in the market and may shape the new future of healthcare.

 

As an old Apple advertisement campaign used to say, “There’s an app for that!” In the healthcare industry, there is an app for almost every function and need. Healthcare is a sector of big data, all of which are gathered from wearables, built-in sensors and, tracking apps from smartphones. There are already more than 100,000 apps in Google Play and other online stores. Medical experts and software geniuses are combining forces to create unique apps that monitor individual health, provide treatment options, ease the communication between patient and doctor, and help the medical community coordinate their efforts.

 

This new fashion of incorporating technology in acquiring data on aspects of a person’s daily routine, such as nutrition, mood, digestive health, blood pressure, heart rate and general performance, is known as the Quantified Self movement. As Wikipedia states it, “Quantified self is self-knowledge through self-tracking with technology.” This practice of self-tracking has many other names, including “lifelogging”, “auto-analytics”, “body hacking” and “self-quantifying”.

How will mobile apps transform the healthcare system

“One of the two most prominent technologies over the next five years will be using data analytics software to manage large volumes of data to start to predict patterns,” says John Glaser, CEO of Siemens Healthcare.

And this is only one of the numerous ways lifelogging apps will help transform the healthcare industry. Namely:

• Centralized Data. Being able to accumulate essential patient data from one centralized area of information is one illustration of the many advantages of digital health. Patients can use tracking apps and software to record and share real-time medical information, enabling healthcare professionals to utilize that data into preventing, fighting and controlling diseases. Much like with Facebook and Twitter, individuals will update their medical history onto an online database that doctors around the globe will have access to with just one click.

 

• Patient Control. Patient-centric apps help individuals gain control of their health. Self-monitoring helps enhance individuals’ awareness and make them more accountable of their physical and mental integrity. Furthermore, with portal technology, health providers can offer visibility of the medical procedures to patients. Individuals can view their personal information from a distance and therefore, achieve self-management of their health conditions. According to Waco Hoover, CEO of the Institute for Health Technology Transformation in New York, it “empowers the patient and adds a degree of power in care where they can become an active participant.”

 

• Healthcare insurance companies have employed gamification and financial rewards into motivating people to lead healthier lives by controlling their weight, tracking their food intake, quitting addictive behaviors, sleeping and exercising more. Setting goals, having daily reminders, journaling daily routine and sharing your progress on public platforms offers great incentives for individuals to take personal action and help prevent future trips to the ER. This will advance the model of care to the point where the involvement of institutions, such as hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices will be considered the last options of diagnosis and treatment.

 

• Electronic Health Records (EHR). What is most interesting is the possibility of not only easily accessing electronic health reports, but also sharing them across multiple medical institutions. We are all familiar with the practice of having to generate and provide significant health records to a doctor, prior to an examining process or surgery. Sometimes, the extra effort might come with fatal consequences, from a delayed diagnosis to death. Old-style software is not as efficient in monitoring and informing real-time patient data as app-based EHRs. The central aim of these EHRs is to have open source systems with interconnection that will save both patients and doctors from all the paperwork.

 

• Personalized treatment. Healthcare providers will use digital technology to review a patient’s medical history and recognize their specific needs in order to provide them the best comfort available and also implement this knowledge into designing more responsive care methods that upgrade the quality of health while also reducing costs. This will be rendered possible due to the widespread adoption of smartphones and tablet computers, the availability of inexpensive sensors that allow for remote monitoring of patients, and the development of other “connected health” technologies, including social media platforms and teleconferencing tools for virtual office visits and other interactions.

 

• Connected health provision. This development won’t only affect the communication between doctor and patient, but also help healthcare providers collaborate with other physicians and experts in new ways.  Doctors can use computers to analyze patient and medical data to deliver more efficient care and treatment that follows the needs of the consumers. This will help reveal unmet social, psychological, and economic needs, as well as the frustrations and dissatisfactions of consumers.

 

• Cost reduction. Online tracking apps that provide access to clinical professionals will save people from the expenses of using transportation to pay a visit to the doctor. Sometimes these visits also prove to be unnecessary and people end up spending their money without purpose. Furthermore, self-monitoring your daily life in terms of food intake, fitness and general performance will help keep you alert of changing patterns and a possible ailment, saving you from the cost of a belated diagnosis and extensive treatment. After all, the best way to treat a medical condition is by trying to prevent it. Online journaling is the most efficient way to make sure of that.

 

Mobile apps in the fight against depression

Most people that suffer from depression do so privately, because they feel embarrassed to request help from a professional. This usually comes at the expense of finding available treatment.

Mobile apps can be personal and efficient tools in their silent battle. Such applications can be “personal trainers” that motivate patients to exercise, guide them through meditation and healthy dietary plans, as well as apps that promote sleep and relaxation.

 

Mobile health apps that have impressed

There is a growing number of mobile apps that help people stay healthy. Among them, there are certainly those who have made the difference and earned the spotlight.

MediSafe. Though there are many apps for medication management on the app store, Medisafe, with 1,000,000 downloads on Google Play, is yet the most effective and easy to use. It was created by Omri and Rotem Shor after their diabetic father’s health was compromised by a double dose of insulin. Medisafe helps people integrate a healthier behavior in their lives with a cloud-synced mobile medication management system.

“Developing a technological daily health companion for taking one’s medication is a clear way to address the major causes of non-adherence such as forgetfulness, lack of support, miscommunication, low engagement, negative feelings, lack of connectivity and even cost,” says MediSafe CEO Omri Shor.

Medisafe is simple to use because:

• You can input your medicines without much trouble and searching. That’s because the app gives access to an extended database of different medicines, so it is most likely you’ll find what you are looking for.
• You can easily record doses and the app will alert you with pop-up reminders to take your pills.
• You can track both symptomatic and time-specific medication.

Since its introduction, Medisafe has engaged millions of users who have monitored over 250 million successful medication doses on their iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. According to a study, the number of adherent users surged by 40%, with an adherence rate of at least 80% of all time. Type 2 diabetic users of the app claimed boost in adherence rates by at least 26%, compared to standard rates for extensive therapies. Not only is the app’s simple layout accountable for that, but also an extra feature it provides, called Medfriend. When a Medisafe user adds a Medfriend (an unprofessional caregiver, whether family or friend), the designated supervisor will receive alerts of missed doses and easily participate in their loved one’s course of treatment.

“As a diabetic and a doctor, I’m well aware of the short-term discomfort of missing medications as well as the long-term impact from poor blood glucose control that often leads to serious – and costly – complications later in life,” states Dr. Daniel Mosby, a Medisafe user and junior doctor from the United Kingdom. “Personally, achieving 100% adherence with Medisafe has made an immense difference in my immediate well-being and is an investment in my long-term health. Professionally, these latest data points only reinforce my belief that the Medisafe application is a great option for healthcare providers who need to assist their patient population with adherence.”

MyFitnessPal and RunKeeper. More than 15,000,000 million people use MyFitnessPal to track food consumption and calorie burn. The app’s success is due to its easy navigation and personification. A user can simply insert their height, weight and fitness goal, and the app will calculate the necessary daily intake of calories. The access to a wide variety of food products and the ability to insert individual recipes makes it impossible to fail to record a meal, or even a minor snack.

“It keeps me accountable,” explains Kristin Miller, 31, a Manhattan mom and skin care consultant. “The app gives you permission to really enjoy your food because you know exactly what you’re eating.”

A study from Akers JD et al showed that the act of keeping daily records of food intake is a feasible and effective approach to long-term weight-loss maintenance.

The app also offers the chance to connect to RunKeeper, an exercise tracker, and record one’s workout sessions – a feature that will aid the exact calculation of daily calories burned.

Runtastic. This Austrian mobile app integrates traditional workouts into smartphone tracking and social networking. The Runtastic company uses gamification, tracking apps, wearables and online comparison to others in order to motivate its users to have daily sessions of running and be mindful of their fitness. The distinctive feature of the app is that it utilizes GPS-based tracking, rather than taking advantage of the smartphone’s automatic distance calculator. It requires you to actually go outside and jog, rather than use the treadmill at your house. The audiences that use the app do not necessarily exercise every day, but want to be updated on their current level of fitness.

Peek. London eye surgeon Dr. Andrew Bastawrous developed a smartphone app that would cure the blind people in Kenya, Batswana and India. As utopian as this may sound, people can use Peek (Portable Eye Examination Kit) to scan their retina and connect with doctors that will diagnose and treat their condition.

There are approximately 39 million people with disabled sight globally. Only in low-income countries, most of the cases of blindness are due to the inaccessibility to medical facilities. However, in Africa people have less water resources than smartphones. It was logical then to develop an app that would help minimize, or even eliminate, any difficulties in receiving treatment.

The main two problems are cataracts and reflective errors. Bastawrous and his team screened 21,000 children in the course of 9 days and 300,000 more in Trans-Nzoia, a rural farming community in Kenya. The app enabled them to detect cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and nerve disease. More than that, because it provides a clear view of the retina, conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes can also be diagnosed. The app would also be an effective tool in hospitals all over the globe, as it can replace traditional equipment, which is breakable and expensive.

Elevate. Elevate is an application that was released by Pickard. Its main function is to help train and strengthen the brain through daily games. Memory, task management, percentage conversion and smart communication are skills that each individuals needs to acquire in their regular routines. To provide the best training exercises, the team worked with the heads of university writing centers, behavioral scientists and cognitive psychologists.

“We want to zero in on each person’s struggles and help them get to a better place,” says Elevate CEO Jesse Pickard. He realized that using games to help people develop their math, vocabulary and retention skills would be a huge aid in their everyday lives.

“We want to broaden the skills we cover — help people pronounce words better, improve their grammar, read faster, calculate tips better, get into budgeting. We’re just scratching the surface now.”

The digital health industry is not limited to these unique and effective apps. ZEEQ recently developed a sleeping pillow that tracks your sleep patterns, plays music for you to sleep, vibrates when you snore to encourage a new sleeping positions and smartly awakens you at the proper time. Doximity is a social network and app attempting to connect doctors all over the world. Omnifluent Health converts a doctor’s speech and dictations instantly to another language. The Human Body was designed to educate kids on body anatomy and help them understand its functions. Medyear allows users to organize their health records from doctors and other medical providers into one app, easing access to a patient’s medical history. Cassava encourages recovering addicts to refrain from relapses and maintain their health. The digital health market is growing rapidly and the various tech companies and medical professionals are already forming partnerships and making investments.

Movements in the digital health industry

One such partnership has recently been formed by Medisafe and GoodRx, America’s leading prescription price comparison platform. This partnership aims to stand against the high copayments of prescription drugs by enabling consumers to easily compare medication prices at over 60,000 pharmacies across the U.S. from within the Medisafe app.

The Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance aims to gather the information from the various digital sources, such as smartphone apps, wearables, sensors and electronic health records, to construct a profile of the patient as an individual and tailor a healthcare package according to their specific needs and medical history.

Apple and IBM are collaborating to create a big data health platform where iPhone and Apple Watch users will be able to share data through a cloud-synced services.

For digital health companies to succeed, their products and software must be clinically tested, consumer-centered and connected to a wider platform of electronic health records and medical professionals. One thing is certain: at these rates, we will soon be entering a new era of health, where the diagnosis and treatment of an ailment will be as far as a tap on a touchscreen.