How do these apps really improve our lives and well-being?
Mobile healthcare apps and their uses have been growing over the years. People employ the use of these health apps rather than going to see a general care physician or a primary health physician.
In our world today, we can find everything on the internet. It is no surprise that most people tend to use mobile apps that focus on the health and well-being of the individual. Our focus in this article is to see how these mobile apps improve our lives and well-being.
Patients are using their mobile phones more than ever before, according to digital health trends. Patients utilize their smartphone for medical advice, video chat health checks, prescription medications, and overall health tracking. Patients appreciate the convenience that healthcare apps provide. Mobile healthcare technology advancements provide patients with reduced cost, instant access to care delivery, and the chance to have more control over their health.
According to IQVIA, app stores worldwide now have over 318,000 health apps available. This is a far increase compared to a few years ago. This shows the healthcare system is improving every year.
For you to have a clear understanding of what these health apps entail, you’ll have a break them down into three main categories;
- Health management apps
- General health and wellness apps
- Telemedicine apps
Since these categories are not the main focus, I will briefly describe what these apps entail before moving on to the main focus.
- The Health Management App: This app assists you in monitoring your health without needing to go to a primary care doctor. This app allows you to monitor your blood pressure and sugar level, amongst others. This app is basically a checkup app that can be used in the comfort of your home.
- General Health and Wellness App: This app specializes in helping individuals track their health habits. It helps keep track of your sleep patterns and how well you manage stress through the stress management feature. Aside from this, it helps keep track of your nutritional intake and often suggests ways to maintain a healthy diet.
- Telemedicine App: Last but not least is the Telemedicine app. This app provides virtual patient care by licensed doctors. Instead of you going to see a general practitioner or a primary doctor near you, you could speak to one virtually in the comfort of my home. Amazing right?
All these and more are what these health care apps provide.
Benefits of Healthcare Apps
Our world today is fast embracing technology and its parameters. It is only practical that the health sector moves with the trend to ensure a stress-free and healthy life. Physical visits to the office of your general practitioner are good as you can get quality care from your doctor nearby. Your health practitioner will always provide the best care and make your healthcare much easier.
However, with healthcare apps, you don’t always have to go all the way. You can get basic information and care from your home. Looking at all of these, we can safely say that these apps help us live healthier lives without spending little to nothing on our health budget. Here is a breakdown of how mobile health apps improve our lives and well-being. Let’s have a look:
- Reduces Healthcare Costs
This might actually sound very confusing to you because your first thought and question would be; ”How does it reduce healthcare cost?” Now, what most of you want and would spend your time and resources on is to get preventive ways and measures to avoid certain illnesses and diseases.
As they say, ”prevention is better than cure.” Most people tend to look for ways by which they could live healthier lives with the avoidance of diseases and infirmities.
What these healthcare apps do is provide methods and ways that you can live better lives.
They suggest what diet to take and what steps to take if you have insomnia, amongst others. Rather than going to the hospital or clinic and ending up spending lots of money, these steps are employed.
In the end, we see that those illnesses are preventable, helping the government save lots of money annually.
- It Helps Healthcare Providers Access and Collect Data Easily
In this case, it makes it easier for general practitioners to collect and retrieve patient information. Healthcare facilities and hospitals that use these apps have access to patients’ information, vitals and prescription.
Aside from this, instead of manually entering patients information, they can be downloaded through the app. This saves a lot of time and resources.
They also provide prescription advice and help physicians avoid excessive patient testing and additional costs. This will no doubt be unavoidable if the patient was to show up in the hospital.
- It Increases Convenience for Patients
Now, most people prefer doing things that could cause little to no stress at all. They continually find ways by which their lives can be made easier. Through these health apps, you can easily access medical doctors and practitioners always on standby to answer any of your health questions.
They can do all these in the comfort of their homes without going physically to the hospital to see a doctor. Furthermore, several telemedicine apps provide simple subscription plans.
This means that each patient would be charged a small fee when consulting with a medical practitioner. This is a subsidized fee against the usual astronomical fee charged for a physical visit to the hospital.
- Improved Efficiency and Speed of Healthcare Delivery
Health apps are making collecting, managing and monitoring health information easier than normal. It helps people track their calorie intake and food intake.
Asides from this, it also gives suggestions on diets to consume, especially when suffering from a deficiency. Similarly, patients with diseases can send updated health information to their healthcare providers.
Final Thoughts
Preventable illnesses are costing us lots and lots of money each year. But the emergence of mobile apps can limit our visits to the clinic and also helps us to save more money. Whether you’re a healthcare expert or a patient, these health apps provide major benefits. They improve our lives and well-being so that we can live satisfying and healthy life.
