Wifi Wellness: Healthcare Techies Build Patient Apps to Cut Costs
Posted: Friday, January 08, 2010
by Michael Brewer
Communicatia, Inc.
Baby Boomers are trashing their simple, Jitterbug-ish handsets and staying in touch with Blackberrys and iPhones more than ever before; a trend that’s not lost on the cost-conscious eyes of leaders within the healthcare industry.
This new power generation of slowly aging but connected consumers is the target of a slew of new handheld applications now in development that do everything from provide one-touch access to health and wellness information to registering blood sugar levels, scheduling reminders for medication, tracking patient heart rates and on-demand video chat via handheld with doctors and nurses. As these phones continue to get even more powerful than they already are, WiFi healthcare will continue to rise.
Among the more unique health-related applications for smart phones is My Life Record, a $50 application that allows you to manage and access medical records including doctor information and images such as X-rays, ultrasounds and electrocardiograms. The company says in spite of its relatively high cost (when compared to other apps that typically cost about a dollar), the software has grown in popularity since its introduction to the iPhone platform a year ago.
Once reserved for the clinical environment, professional-grade hearing tests, food trackers, medication alarms and other apps are making their way into the smart phone mainstream. Insurance companies and hospitals hope they lead to significant cost-cuts to their bottom lines while emphasizing wellness as part of their policy holders’ daily routines.
Healthcare providers and doctors were among the first consumers to take desktop medical applications into their palms, since mobility and 24/7 schedules made it virtually impossible to track patient care without the aid of software. The most common physician and health care provider apps now include:
· Drug databases
· Medical calculators
· Reference programs
· Decision support for both physicians and nurses
· Tracking patient stats (weight, blood pressure, etc.)
· Patient history accessing, managing, and documenting
· Communication managers
· Payer tools (coding, eligibility determination, etc.)
Chronic disease support companies, whose business model is built around call centers staffed with registered nurses, are also re-thinking how they provide service. Some industry analysts say online chat via smart phones will become the norm since their typical patient base is living longer and not necessarily confined to their homes.
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