Skip the waiting room: how smartphones are bringing doctors and patients closer together

Smartphones have already transformed the way we manage our money, our homes, and our social networks, and now mobile technology is changing the way we manage our health. Virtual approaches to individualized healthcare are bringing us closer to our healthcare providers in an unconventional setting — one outside the clinic or hospital wing. Here are three types of apps that are bringing your doctor’s office closer to you.

Virtual Doctor Apps

Virtual doctors visits, or eVisits, have introduced a whole new space for doctors and patients to exchange information. eVisits include anything from email, texts, phone calls and video consultations that happen between doctors and patients. Apps like TeleDoc and MDLive are two leading examples. These apps connect patients to doctors 24/7 through phone or video conferencing. In exchange, patients typically pay a monthly fee and/or a fixed rate per consultation (typically around $30–50). Such apps are seen as ideal for non-emergency visits and have grown in popularity due their convenience, accessibility, and affordability when compared the cost of in-person visits.

Price Comparison Apps

When booking a flight or hotel, we typically compare prices and ratings before making a selection. Well now we can do the same with our healthcare services. Apps like Hospital Compare offer us a chance to compare the cost of care among surrounding hospitals, and see hospital ratings based on metrics like cleanest beds, shortest wait times, number of x surgeries performed, etc. Other apps, like Health4Me, help users identify the cost of specific medical procedures by comparing physicians, facilities, and locations.

Health assessment Apps

We all know of the many recordkeeping apps for monitoring our blood pressure, activity levels, and everything in between. But among these is an emerging new category of apps, ones that actually help us interpret the information collected and share it with our health providers. Ginger.io, an app targeting mental health patients and used in select U.S. hospitals, is one example. The app works by monitoring sleep patterns, movements, and communication habits among users, then runs this information through statistical analysis. The app then outputs information that informs doctors of patient outcomes and identifies at-risk patients who can benefit from outreach.

With tools that provide access to health records, doctors, and service providers, smartphone technology is making access to healthcare more convenient and affordable. And the continued spread of mobile applications and smartphones across the world means we will soon see a future in healthcare that no longer stops outside the doctor’s office.

Originally published at https://nilosoftware.com/blog