The recent technological innovations and mobile advancements are bringing about a major change in the relationship between healthcare professionals and their patients. Patients want faster answers to their healthcare queries and greater control over wellness programs.
The growth of new healthcare applications in the market was inevitable. These technologies have enabled patients and medical professionals to communicate in a more efficient manner.
Virtual Medicine
Telemedicine and telehealth apps are making healthcare more conducive to individual wellness, less expensive, more preventive and just downright better in many areas. The five apps mentioned in this article are excellent examples of modern-day 'virtual' health management.
By creating a more competitive marketplace for health and wellness services, these apps are collectively increasing opportunities towards better results at lower costs. Remote healthcare and telemedicine, reduce the costs by lowering access time, increasing preventive care and eliminating extra fuel consumption resulted by unnecessary trips to a medical institution.
These applications and websites - and other similar options - truly aim to revolutionize healthcare.
1. Doctor on Demand
Doctor On Demand is a medically certified mobile application that allows video consultation with a doctor, have him write a medicinal prescription for you or simply get your questions answered. Board-certified professionals can also treat non-emergency medical cases such as cold and flu symptoms, sports injuries, heartburn, respiratory infections and allergies, urinary tract infections as well as many pediatric issues.
They also prescribe medicine for travel purposes and refill existing prescriptions. Thanks to a new update on Doctor On Demand, you can now see a psychologist and have a stay-at-home lactation examination. In the US, Doctor On Demand has more than 1400 state-licensed physicians.
Sadly, there are states that still don't allow medical diagnosis and prescriptions via video consultation. The government charges users a flat rate of $40 per session with doctors. Psychologist Video Visits cost $50 for a 25-minute session and $95 for 50 minutes.
2. HelloMD
Similar to online brain-assessment methods, HelloMD might not provide you with immediate medical care but it does specialize in finding specialists such as a neurologist, radiologist or chiropractor for a very specific rare health condition.
The application helps you connect with the right certified doctor or surgeon by setting up an appointment within 24 hours. The session then takes place in the online platform via video call. The two basic purposes of HelloMD are to connect the user to the right doctor, so that you can see him or her in person for follow-up care, and to allow you quick access to specialists for second opinions.
The prices can vary because the doctors set their own rates asking you to provide a credit card number to confirm the appointment, which generally occurs within a few days.
3. Microsoft HealthVault
Being extremely valuable to both individuals and families, Microsoft HealthVault is a professional online and mobile app healthcare service that allows the facility to keep your medical records safe and up to date. The information is only shareable with healthcare professionals and people you trust.
With a dedicated following for years, the application has helped many people with chronic conditions by tracking their daily health metrics such as blood sugar level, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation.
You have the option of either inputting your data manually or have it done automatically by simply connecting HealthVault to any medical device, fitness tracker, Wi-Fi bathroom scales, and other apps.
4. Epocrates
Epocrates is an amazing mobile application for pharmacists. Along with being a comprehensive archive with tons of medical information, including drug interaction checker and a pill identification tool, the app also offers a secure HIPAA compliant, texting service that allows physicians and other hospital personnel to text each other with convenience. It keeps doctors updated with important news stories and builds essential resources for clinical guidelines, ICD-10 codes, disease information and more.
5. PingMD
A secure messaging app for doctors, PingMD allows medical health experts to connect with other professionals as well as their patients. Patients usually download the application only when their doctors are using it or recommend it to them.
If your doctor ever suggests PingMD, he or she might be aiming to virtually follow your symptom progression, assist in disease management or ask follow-up questions. Similar to the telemedicine application Epocrates, PingMD is also HIPAA compliant and allows you to connect with your physicians the same way you might communicate with a friend or colleague via text messaging, image sharing and so forth.
Doctors using PingMD can also set their patients up for re-examinations with other experts on the platform to get a second opinion. Each app is individually tailored to suit the taste and workflow of the user, but together these online resources are a futuristic vision of medical care, forming a world where doctors, nurses and all health administrators have up-to-the-minute information about their patients and can communicate with each other via a simple screen tap.
About the Author
Kamil Riaz is a Writer and Digital Marketer. He has completed his masters in Administrative Science from the University of Karachi. As a writer, he wrote numerous articles on management, technology, and health. Currently, his is working with Dementiatalk team.You can find him on LinkedIn & Twitter
