Mobile Apps in Healthcare

Question: Write about theMobile Apps in Healthcare. Answer: Digital revolution is sweeping across the world at an alarming speed. Within the last few years, the technology was limited to some few sectors of the economy like communication and media. Recently, digital technology has taken over almost every sector. Almost all the industries have embraced the technology with passion (West, 2013). Apparently, it has changed how things happen or even done. Some activities that used to take months to be accomplished now takes less than a minute. People are currently operating their activities at the comfort of their homes just at the touch of a button, thanks to mobile apps. Mobile apps are easy to use and require no technical learning making it user-friendly (West, 2012). Firms and businesses are developing mobile apps that enable them to serve their customers better and with increased efficiency. Health care industry too is not left behind and has seen growth in mobile use apps. The apps are used for various purposes in the healthcare sector. Besi des, different health care providers have varied types of mobile apps designed for different purpose. Therefore, this paper seeks to examine the use of mobile apps in healthcare, its impacts and even some of the commonly used mobile apps. Healthcare apps supported by iPhone, iPod, Android and even Blackberry come in different categories. QxMD Calculate is an example of health calculates and comes handy in decision-making. Ambulatory App is another essential app that helps the physician in tracking and keeping the patient's data from the first visit to the last. Neuromind is the highly ranked app by the neurosurgeons (Heron, Smyth 2010). Just but to name a few commonly used apps in healthcare. It is even more amazing to note that health centers quickly embrace the use of Mobile Apps. John Hopkins Hospital which is one of the most prestigious and renowned hospitals in the world even went ahead to developing its own mobile App (Heron, Smyth 2010). The app has various functions both usable by the patients and health practitioners. The app helps physicians in John Hopkins to diagnose the various types of sleep disorders without any confusion. Similarly, the Hospital also has the John Hopkins ABX Guide, which is a mobile app that allows individuals to search for information concerning treatments and medications on various diseases (Heron, Smyth 2010). One uprising fact about the app, it has the capabilities to provide such important dosage descriptions; medical prescriptions, drug side effects, and how the medications behave. Evidently, with the increasing number of people in the world innovations are also increasing. Mobile apps not only work for healthcare services limited to hospital settings, but also in the business world (Heron, Smyth 2010). Insurances concerned with medical and matters of life use mobile apps in their activities. MetLifes Infinity App is a mobile insurance app that patients can use at their comfort to apply for insurance cover, check status or even complain. Through the app, one can put the birth certificates, medical and financial documents in a secure way into the cloud (Heron, Smyth 2010). Doctor on Demand App and the ZocDoc App helps an individual to search and video chat with a doctor from wherever they are. In case, someone feels a slight change in her well-being, the app enables him or her to simply search for the doctor and share the complications without having to visit the hospital l (Henze et al. 2011). Therefore, Mobile apps have varied applications within healthcare setting Mobile apps have several influences on the healthcare industry. There are both positive influences and negative impacts. However, the positive impacts seem to outweigh the negative impact that is why we are experiencing the widespread use of the apps in the industry. Since health is the most concern for every individual and every sector, it will ensure that it stays on top always to provide quality services to the users. What has contributed so much to the widespread use of mobile apps is the encroachment of the smartphones in the market (Free et al. 2013). It becomes easier to install the apps on the phones. In fact, the phones can hold several apps at a go. Besides, there has been an increasing concern for health. People have become much concerned about their health issues. Thus, they constantly want to seek for information at their comforts; since others would shy off from confronting a health practitioner, and share their health woes (Boulos et al. 2011). For instance, the Breast cancer Diagnosis Guide is a mobile app that helps cancer patients monitors their conditions. Smartphones come handy and sort them with much ease. A fact is that, currently, there are several health and fitness apps in the industry. These apps are somewhere beyond ninety-seven thousand (Henze et al. 2011). It is estimated that by the end of this year, the Health mobile market revenue will be worth more than twenty billion US Dollars (Henze et al. 2011).. The widespread use of mobile apps has gained its immense popularity due to their enormous use in the industry. Thus, its need in healthcare settings manifests itself in four main categories. One is that they are required in communication (Henze et al. 2011). Mobile apps have communication capabilities. Health practitioners can hold conferences by the use of such mobile apps. It thus helps them reduce movement and even multitask. One is only required to touch a dial and talk with another health provider who might be several kilometers away. In addition, one can still send text messages, emails, and video chats through this app (Henze et al. 2011). The apps also help in the hospital information managements. They provide a good basis for electronic health records. In this case, a hospital secures a site for storing the information in the cloud, which they can efficiently manage without the fear of losing the information. In addition, it provides for storing information in varied forms i ncluding pictures. Thus, clinical and laboratory information can be well managed with these apps (van Velsen et al. 2013). Mobile apps also act as the sources of information. One can access eBooks and other important sources of information from the Internet through the application (Henze et al. 2011). Hence, a medical practitioner can do some medical literature study by using their phones. Uptodate Mobile App helps clinicians with current literature and references on diagnosis of various diseases for the young and elderly people (van Velsen et al. 2013). From the app, a practitioner can clarify medical guidelines as well as a reference or getting references to drugs. It is also necessary to note that, mobile apps contain some clinical software applications (Henze et al. 2011). These applications are very important for clinicians in the diagnosis of diseases. ISABEL Mobile App is highly appreciated for its diagnostic capabilities (Silow-Carroll et al. 2013). Sometimes the diagnosis o f certain diseases might not be clear to the clinician, but with the app in place, the work is made easy. Besides, this software contains medical calculators. The advantages of the mobile apps in the healthcare settings are paramount. One of the top most advantages of the mobile apps in the healthcare setting is the increasing of the social networks. For those medical practitioners like doctors and physicians working in different regions, these apps help them stay connected. One can therefore, share precious information with another through these apps with great conveniences (Heron, Smyth 2010). Mobile technology also helps medical personnel reach out to various people. With the app, they can share medical information and even give prescriptions to a patient who is several miles away. Increasing patient independence is another notable advantage of the apps (Steinhubl et al. 2013). With the apps in the phone, patients can easily acquire necessary information that helps them manage their conditions on their own. Hence, they do not need to travel to hospitals for their conditions to be checked by the doctor. The apps provide patients with in formation concerning signs and symptoms together with what needs to be done when they observe such signs. Its advantages on reducing the cost of healthcare also cannot be underestimated. Mobile apps help the patient save time and energy of seeing the doctors and nurses at the hospital (Silow-Carroll et al. 2013). Patients thus save money of traveling to the hospitals and long hours of staying in the queues by just talking to the doctor through the app. In that case, the patients save money on fuel and time, which they can use to perform other important tasks. On the other hand, hospitals can also save money and resources by having few numbers of patients visiting the hospitals (Adesina et al. 2011). Those patients whose conditions are worse and require the doctors examination visits the hospital. Thus, mobile apps increase efficiency in offering services at the heath care settings and consequently improve the patients conditions. Like any other good innovation, the use of mobile apps also comes with some challenges. Even though the advantages of mobile apps outweigh the disadvantages, it is important to examine and determine the worth of its harm. The biggest challenge of mobile apps is the privacy issues (Adesina et al. 2011). Medical specialist and critics of the apps questions the privacy concerns. It is perceived as though the apps require some control on their use. Hospitals require some laws to control the use of mobile apps. It becomes a challenge for patients who would wish to keep their health status in secret. Some would not like their bosses or family members like spouses to know their health status, which may affect their relationships. Hence, lack of protection, monitoring, and control in the use of the mobile apps affect the privacy of users, which leads to worries and discomforts. Another essential disadvantage of the mobile apps is that it divides people along the lines of social and economic status (Henze et al. 2011).. As much as the technology is increasingly becoming sophisticated, some individuals still do not have access to smartphones. Thus, they cannot access important information shared by those who possess such sophisticated phones. The divide is increasing, and soon it will lead to health care disparities. Apart from privacy concerns, security issues also affect the use of mobile apps (Avancha et al. 2012). Since, patients can use their apps freely through texting, sharing emails and photos; some people with malicious intention can intercept the process. The information then lands in the wrong hands leading to severe problems. Issues relating to terrorism may intervene and take advantage of medical information to carry on their malicious acts. Hence both the patient and the nation becomes at high risk of attack. Besides, there is a lack of information control (Ozdalga et al. 2012). Such apps enable anyone to access any information. Therefore, some vital inform ation that needs to be in the hands of only the health practitioners finds their way into the hands of the patients. Such information may lead to harm. Also, increased freedom of information enables patients to prescribe medicine on their own, which may harm their health and even risk lives. Therefore, mobile apps have several important uses in the healthcare settings. They are useful in storage and management of information, communication, and resources for information and used as clinical software apps. With all these features, the apps have myriad advantages to both patients and the healthcare practitioners. It reduces the cost for patients, improves health conditions of patients, and increases social networking as well as increasing the medical services efficiency. Besides, there is always the other side of the coin. Mobile apps have a detrimental effect on peoples privacy, safety, and security. It exposes individual information to other parties. Thus, people become vulnerable to information getting into the wrong hands. However, considering the two contrasting effects of mobile apps, the advantages seem to outweigh the disadvantages. That is the reason its use is increasing rapidly. The developments of new apps occur every day. References Adesina, A. O., Agbele, K. K., Februarie, R., Abidoye, A. P., Nyongesa, H. O. (2011). Ensuring the security and privacy of information in mobile health-care communication systems. South African Journal Of Science, 107(9/10), 26-32. Avancha, S., Baxi, A., Kotz, D. (2012). Privacy in mobile technology for personal healthcare. ACM Computing Surveys, 45(1), 3:1-3:54. doi:10.1145/2379776.2379779 Free, C., Phillips, G., Watson, L., Galli, L., Felix, L., Edwards, P., Haines, A. (2013). The effectiveness of mobile-health technologies to improve health care service delivery processes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Plos Medicine, 10(1), 1-26. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001363 Heron, K.E., Smyth, J.M. (2010). 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