There’s been a sharp rise in healthcare apps in recent years, with more than 165,000 available at the App Store according to Healthcare IT News. But not all are created equal. With so many options, which are best for helping patients prioritize and manage their health? And how will healthcare apps in 2018 evolve with new technologies?
Most useful types of healthcare apps
At Providence Digital Innovation Group (DIG), we are prioritizing two types of healthcare apps: resource apps and care-on-demand apps. We’re pursing projects in both areas because they have the potential to move the needle on some of the greatest unmet healthcare needs; from improving quality to making care more affordable and available. Digital solutions may also provide streamlined workflow for clinicians’ and caregivers’, and eventually help improve the health of a large group of patients.
Resource apps
Living with a condition or disease is easier when you have a network of resources at your fingertips. That way, you can find answers to questions without having to contact your healthcare provider. Circle by Providence is an example of one such tool.
Circle is a free app that lets expectant mothers tap into a vast network of resources and tools for moms and moms-to-be. From pregnancy through the teen years, Circle has answers to your questions about raising healthy kids. Circle offers:
- Articles with answers to your questions about pregnancy, babies and parenting.
- Breastfeeding support from videos and articles, and a guide to local resources.
- Information about classes and groups for new moms and moms with older children.
- A to-do checklist from Providence experts to guide you through every stage of pregnancy and motherhood.
- Health-tracking tools so you can update providers about your pregnancy and your growing child.
Care on demand apps
When it’s late at night and you’re too sick to drive, or when you’re traveling and need to see your doctor, virtual care is a convenient option. Care on demand apps, such as Providence’s Express Care Virtual, lets you get access to a provider remotely, whereas apps like Express Care at Home enable you to request a doctor visit your home; all from your smart device.
Express Care Virtual is like having a doctor’s appointment via FaceTime. You use your phone, tablet or computer to have a video chat in real time with a health care provider. This service is good for health issues that don’t require a visit in person, such as when you are experiencing cold and flu symptoms, , sore throat, rashes, diarrhea and vomiting or conjunctivitis.
The Express Care at Home service lets you use an app to request a provider visit you in person in your home, hotel, or place of business.
The changing face of apps in 2018
Innovative healthcare companies are placing a premium on recruiting standout development talent to create cutting-edge apps that cut through the clutter and solve for the greatest need. In 2018 and beyond, we’ll see many of these trends start to filter in to healthcare apps:
Personalized healthcare apps that are tailored to a user’s location, usage and behavior – perhaps sending a notification to pick up a prescription when the patient is near his or her pharmacy of choice.
Apps that integrate AR and VR into healthcare. From Big Think, “Fully immersive 3D operating room simulations could be used to train young doctors in real life situations, helping them to gain experience, become more confident, and be able to make the snap decisions necessary in order to save lives.”
An influx of medial sensors and wearables with apps to monitor everything from safety to post-surgery recovery to detection of disease. Recently announced sensors can do some of what happens at a patient’s routine physical, monitoring everything from oxygen saturation to heart rate over time to blood pressure.
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