Is there an app for that? Benefits for using mobile health apps.



Mobile health apps are becoming more common among patients and practitioners. Patients can find an app to help monitor their activity levels, their weight loss, improve their medication adherence, track blood sugar, and track blood pressures. There are many benefits to using health apps including:

• Mobile apps allow patients to self monitor their health.
•  Physicians can be notified when patient's condition change.

• Apps help educate patients about their health and inform them on how to make healthy decisions. 

• Apps help patients work with their doctors and be a part of their own care.

When choosing health care apps here are a few strategies to help you make an educated decisions.

• Consider your own health needs. What kind of app would benefit you and help you achieve your goal.

• Read the app's reviews. This will help you determine if the app has met other peoples needs that are similar to yours. 

• Determine who published the app. If it was developed by a healthcare system or doctor that is beneficial.

• Look for apps that are backed by science.

• Before clicking "I agree" read through the patient privacy statement.

• Beware of apps that have multiple advertisements.

• Determine if the app is approved by the FDA. 

Apps are a convenient way to help you to take control of your own health. Below is a list of healthcare apps that we recommend.

Exercise- fitbit.comExercise- movegb.com
Stress Management-  headspace.com
Smoking cessation- clickotine.com
Hypertension- blood pressure companion
Hypertension- icardio workout tracker
Alcohol moderation- drinkaware.co.uk
Diabetes prevention- omadahealth.com
Diabetes-  www.welldoc.com
Atrial fibrillation screening and dysrhythmias- alivecor.com

References

Atreja, A. (2018). How to choose the best health app for you. Huffington Post. retreived from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-choose-the-best-health-app-for-you_us_5a54d736e4b0ee59d41c0e01 

Boulos, M. N., Brewer, Ann., Karimkhani, C., Buller, D., & Dellavelle, R. (2014). Mobile medical health apps: state of the art, concerns, regulatory control and certification. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 5(3), 229. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v5i3.4814

Diamond, R. (2016). There's an app for that: benefits and risks of using mobile apps for healthcare. The Doctors Company. Retrieved from https://www.thedoctors.com/articles/theres-an-app-for-that-benefits-and-risks-of-using-mobile-apps-for-healthcare/