HEALTH APPS, HELP APPS

Mobile health apps seem to be everywhere. They can give patients helpful tools. Health apps can:

-read your current health and tell your doctor

-let you read your own medical records and see test results

-provide online doctor's visits

-give a quick and easy way for you and your doctor to send messages

-let you track your eating and exercise

-and more

Patients who use mobile health apps spend less money on health care. They get better quicker, and have better fitness. They have easier and faster communication with their doctors.

Many patients are worried about protecting their health care information when using health apps. To keep your information safe, follow these tips when you look for a health app: 

-Check if the app follows HIPAA: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are rules that give privacy and security for your medical information. Check the app's description or FAQ to see if the app follows HIPAA.

-See if external audits were done: App developers who are serious about keeping your information private will hire an outside company to test the security of their app. Check the app description or FAQ.

-Look to see if the app is "beyond HIPAA compliant:" This is when an app does extra things to keep your information safe. They might make you enter a pass code, or have you re-enter your pass word every time you use it.

If you are ready for the world of mobile health apps, try these ones:

-For online doctor's visits: Doctor on Demand

-Expert advice and instructions for emergencies: First Aid by American Red Cross

-To track your medical records: ask your doctor's office, or try MyChart

-Track your daily fitness and calories burned: Fitbit App

-For these and many more apps: 50 Best Smartphone Health Apps

Gordon, A.S., Adamson, W.C., & DeVries, A.R. (2017). Virtual visits for acute, non-urgent care: A claims analysis of episode-level utilization. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(2). doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2196%2Fjmir.6783

Mobius MD. (2018). How secure are your medical apps? Retrieved from https://www.mobius.md/blog/2018/07/how-secure-are-your-medical-apps/

Palen, T.E., Price, D., Shetterly, S., & Wallace, K.B. (2012). Comparing virtual consults to traditional consults using an electronic health record: An observational case–control study. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 12(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6947-12-65 

Stringfellow, A. (2018, July 5). 50 best smartphone health apps. Retrieved from  https://www.tccrocks.com/blog/top-smartphone-health-apps/#MedicalApps