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    Patient Care: GPs Have Got An App For That

    By Thomas Moore, health correspondent | Sky News – Wed, Feb 22, 2012

    GPs are to "prescribe" smartphone apps to patients to help them manage their own health.

    The Department of Health says the technology can put patients in charge of their medical records, and help them manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension.

    More than 500 apps were nominated as part of a competition run by the NHS.

    The most useful and popular have now been included on a shortlist that doctors will be encouraged to recommend to patients.

    One app, called Patients Know Best , allows individuals to take control of their medical records and make video calls to doctors.

    It was created by Mohammad al Ubaydli, who has a rare genetic disorder that leaves him vulnerable to infections.

    He told Sky News: "It is a one-in-a-million condition and there are lots of doctors involved in my care.

    "I had to keep updating them on my treatment, so I thought I should take control of my records and then share them as needed."

    A third of medical records contain errors. Most are trivial, but some, such as drug allergies, are serious.

    "The best person to spot mistakes is the patient," he said.

    The most popular app was Moodscope , which helps people monitor their state of mind and alerts friends, family or health workers if they are feeling low.

    The Diabetes App reminds people when to check blood sugar levels and take medication.

    It also records and tracks readings, which can be sent electronically to their clinic for monitoring.

    And FoodWiz.co allows people with food allergies and intolerances to avoid certain ingredients by zapping barcodes on supermarket shelves.

    Martha Lane Fox, UK digital champion and dotcom entrepreneur, helped to judge the apps.

    She said: "We live in a world where digital technology is an essential part of people's lives - whether it's at work or simply getting around town.

    "I want to encourage more people to develop their digital skills, and that's why it's been great to be a part of this initiative.

    "Using apps that locate local health services or apps that help you to get fit can dramatically improve your daily life."

    Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: "Innovation and technology can revolutionise the health service.

    "We are looking at how the NHS can use these apps for the benefit of patients, including how GPs could offer them for free."

    A list of all 500 nominated apps is available at http://departmentofhealth.ideascale.com.

     

    2 comments

    • gene
      gene  •  London, England  •  3 months ago
      the Idea is you go to your Doctors and he sorts things out for you. lets hope things Stay that way for People that can't get about Much.
      • Robert
        Robert 3 months ago
        The idea is also that you only go to the doctor when you are seriously ill, not when you have got a bit of a cough or a funny feeling in your little toe. Hopefully this app will go someone to decreasing the amount of time and money that is wasted on needless GP visits; especially by pensioners.
      • Jo Jo
        Jo Jo 3 months ago
        You go to a hospital when you're seriously ill. Anyone should be able to go to their doctor when they feel unwell, without feeling guilty, especially pensioners, they've paid in more than most. If you've got "a bit of cough" when you're in your 80's it could be fatal. Over the counter medicine is expensive, and a prescription for a pensioner is free. What would you do Robert?
      • Robert
        Robert 3 months ago
        I would stay at home, get some rest and drink plenty of fluids. The medicine that doctors give you for a cough does not cure you, it just eases the symptoms.
    • Steve
      Steve  •  3 months ago
      I'm all for patients having more means of monitoring their own health conditions, and I believe tech can be very useful for that. I worry this is gonna lead to a presumption that people have to have a particular smart phone and lead to greater digital divides- few smart phones are cheep. and there's quite a few disabled people who find them difficult to use, not because they are too complex, but because the keys/displays are too small

      Can we please have the applications written so the code is portable to other devices? That should help avoid situations where people have plural conditions and the apps for different conditions are only available for different devices. Regarding accessibility if the Raspbery Pi does take off it shouldn't be too difficult to have them work with different input/output devices depending on a person's needs.
      • Steve
        Steve 3 months ago
        eg look at the Arduino and it's idea of shields. it shouldn't be too difficult to have a "clip on shield" for say glucose monitoring , and different shield for blood pressure. If patient was blind a brail display unit could be substituted for a visual display unit. If patient has difficulty reading a small display they just substitute an extra large display.
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