A healthcare application is a digital tool used on a mobile phone or tablet PC that collects, manages, shares, and stores personal health information to improve health services' understanding, methodology, and delivery. Healthcare applications come in various offerings and usages to support and promote better quality public health. They connect patients to vital health services, facilities, and treatment requirements. Examples include Medici, Medisafe, ZocDoc, Headspace, Apple Health, Pocket Pharmacist, and Teladoc.
For consumers, healthcare applications offer personalized healthcare that can be accessed outside clinical settings. These applications provide medical advice on nutrition goals, exercise programs, medication guidance, and updates on vitals or health conditions. Healthcare applications used on mobile devices enhance the patient experience by providing instant updates and medical advice to improve care outcomes. Patients can easily manage medical conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart conditions. Additionally, healthcare networks provide patients with applications for communication with physicians to maintain health goals. These applications can aid remote patient monitoring devices and give physicians real-time updates on patients’ medical readings.
Patients who use mobile healthcare applications can engage in telemedicine, like doctor-on-demand, receiving expert medical advice and diagnosis over live video. These platforms aid patients with easy scheduling and real-time communication with healthcare providers, making care more accessible. Medical history can be quickly reviewed for a better understanding of patient symptoms and faster approval of treatment plans. Healthy lifestyle applications can track weight-related goals, sleep-wake cycles, women’s health, and anxiety levels. Patients can also benefit from applications that provide educational information on drug reactions, trauma events, medication combinations, and other emergencies.
Applications for healthcare workers consist of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) digital tools that collect and organize patient records to assist clinicians in diagnosing and treating various medical conditions. These tools allow healthcare teams to access patient health data quickly and securely from lab reports, MRI and ultrasound scans, and medical images. Physicians can also use applications to enhance medical learning and practices.
Applications can be leveraged to streamline physician workflow by automating schedule updates and medical calendars, facilitating quick communication between healthcare staff, and providing a quick reference to clinical guidelines. Clinical decisions can be supported through application usage, allowing healthcare workers to access patient health data to diagnose illness quickly. Physicians can also collect patient vitals through remote monitoring apps that analyze medical data, using the data to support personalized care to improve patient health outcomes.
Risk assessment applications assist physicians when evaluating new clinical methods for patients with chronic diseases. Risk conditions are considered using specialized calculation methods that assess different variables that affect patient health outcomes, helping doctors make better clinical judgments.