As we all know, with today's technology, whatever you need to know, "There's An App For That".
A new wave of apps is starting to turn the healthcare industry from Reactive to Proactive. Technology is moving toward population health management with a team-based approach. Soon the healthcare professional will have access to sensors and monitors that can remotely provide them the information necessary to be aware of changes in the patient before they become an emergency. Living services is a technology that learns and evolves to meet the needs of the patient. Before you know it the nurse and/or physician will be receiving notifications, via the internet, about how a patient's stomach is reacting to a new medication, or changes in physiology indicating impending depression. The applications are endless and will grow exponentially in the coming years.
These apps will change the way medicine is being practiced and increase self-care as well. Apple has already created a lot of interest in the apps available on their Apple Watch and the FitBit's popularity has grown quickly. People are using these tools to track their fitness activities as well as monitor other functions including sleep patterns, stress triggers, and much more. This trend toward self-care is going mainstream. These self-care apps will improve the health of their users by giving them information they never had access to and allowing them to monitor and improve their daily habits. Meditation apps are available which can help people reduce their stress levels..
Chronically ill patients should benefit greatly from this technology as well when devices and sensors connected via the internet can provide real-time data and monitoring of the patient by an RN or Physician in another location. This has been shown to improve medication adherence, improve behavior modifications and even prevent ER visits. The idea is to extend care services to patients outside the physical setting and improve self-care at the same time.
The use of apps for healthcare is creating a very competitive marketplace for these health and wellness services. Remote access to patients through these telemedicine apps will increase preventative care and reduce time to access and eliminate unnecessary trips to a physical location. These apps truly will revolutionize healthcare.
The technology is changing every day and keeping up with all the changes can present a challenge for all healthcare professionals. But the rewards will be well worth it as the quality of care improves for wellness and the chronically ill and everyone in between.
Mary Crawford, HealthCare Employment Network
