Healthcare & Smartphone: How to Monitor Health Using an iPhone?
It seems so right to use an iPhone for saving a life instead of the elimination of green pigs. I think there is no need to explain why it can be crucial to use your smartphone as a health monitor in order to check your condition or to get some useful healthcare information.
Developers of up-to-date applications are quite aware that Health category of the AppStore will be always in demand since people always care about their health. No wonder that there have been profound mobile technologies developed in order to help iPhone/iPad/iPod users turn their devices into pocket hemadynamometers (a tool for taking blood pressure), glucometers (for diabetics) and even wireless scales for those who are on a diet. Pretty awesome as for me! Thanks to the latest technologies I can use my iPhone as a pocket health monitor that is always at fingertips.
5 most important health iPhone attachments
Probably you have heard about iHealth and similar gadgets, more looking like iPhone attachments were developed especially for people who have certain health issues and need to apply some medical devices on a regular basis. I’d like to emphasize the 5 most important health iPhone attachments:
• Blood pressure monitor by Withings. My parents use this attachment because it gives accurate results. All you need to do is to attach this gadget to an iPhone/iPod or iPad and launch the application Medscape.
• Bluetooth Raisin health monitor. If I need to check my health rate I use Raisin’s monitor. It is pretty stable and its interface is user-friendly.
• Handyscope. The small attachment to an iPhone’s camera that you can use to diagnose any skin diseases. On the basis of zoomed photos the app defines the symptoms of multiple skin conditions.
• Sports Fitness Equipment. No matter whether you like jogging or prefer a gym this attachment will be handy. It provides any iPod/iPhone/iPad user with ANT and wireless fitness sensors.
• ECG case (only for iPhone 4 and higher). Words are unnecessary since heart is the most important organ and requires regular monitoring especially if you have a history of heart attacks or other heart disorders. This Lifetone’s ECG technology is a must-have attachment for everyone.
If you are aware of some other useful health monitors or gargets that can be applied to an iPhone you welcome to share with other readers since some other tools can be also very helpful.
What health-related functions your iPhone can provide?
I did a little research and it turns out you can use your iPhone in so many ways to check your health condition:
1) Use a cellphone for searching a good doctor. I prefer to take an advantage of ZocDoc app. It is free and pretty accurate to provide a quickly search of physicians and an online booking of an appointment.
2) Use an iPhone as a pill reminder. If you can’t always remember when and in what dosage to apply your meds yon can benefit from an app like Gazelle (free) where you can store and share any data like lab results, pill reminders and other medical records.
3) Check with an iPhone how drugs interact with each other so you could avoid negative side effects in future. And again I recommend using Medscape or WebMD (described below) where are gathered drug interactions and safety data on few thousands of FDA-approved medications. The reference sections of both apps also contain the data on wide-spread and rare diseases.
4) If you are in pain or have some suspicious symptoms learn to know why you suffer by using an iPhone app. There are plenty of applications capable to fulfill this task. For example, experts recommend using SportsInjuryClinic for athletes who often have sports-related injuries. For measuring your stress level you can use any application like Instant Heart Rate (my personal choice). And for defining your skin cancer risk feel free to take an advantage of MelApp.
5) Get rid of a smoking habit. An iPhone will help you to cease smoking for good by means of the applications like My Last Cigarette that motivates to become a non-smoker.
As you see, there are so many opportunities are available for those maniacs who are obsessed with their health. Seriously speaking, it won’t be unnecessary to apply all these apps on occasion. Below goes my personal top 3 of health iPhone applications that, in my humble opinion, every user may need from time to time.
WebMD – your pocket medical advisor!
I have already mentioned this application a bit earlier. I strongly recommend using WebMD because it rocks. Whether you have a headache, nausea or a suspicious mole WebMD becomes your personal assistant and gives tips and data on plenty of medicine-related FAQ.
I like this free application because it has a bunch of useful options like:
• an easy-to-navigate menu and an advanced search system;
• can help to find a specialist or the nearest hospital on the map;
• type symptoms you have and it will offer you pretty accurate results on your possible diagnosis;
• save all important information like the listing of doctors in your area or current prescriptions;
• send emails to your friends and contact your therapists and physicians straight via the application;
• get up-to-date information on any drug registered by FDA;
• use the sophisticated built-in web-based and full-body symptom checker.
My verdict: WebMD is a great (and free!) application that provides an access to a huge database of helpful tips, recommendations and healthcare data.
Work your way into shape with personal trainer iMuscle!
Having a slim figure is one of the aspects making a person healthier. There are so many different fitness apps for iPhone users in the AppStore. I stick to the majority and choose the extremely popular iMuscle (its price is about $2) that serves as a pocket digital trainer. What I absolutely like about this application is its simple navigation system providing the tutorials on how to make your body slim via 450 choices of exercises for all groups of muscles – push-ups, stretches, etc.
What benefits of iMuscle you will get:
• all exercises are available via 3D-animated tutorials. To get a closer look on a particular exercise tutorial rotate a 3D image by swiping your iPhone’s screen;
• after the launch of the app you will see a 3D-model of a human body. Click on any part of a body to choose the group of muscles you want to improve. The app will give hints on how to exercise to make a certain body part looking flawless;
• select any exercise from the list and set the number of reps or weight you want to lift to let the application develop a perfect workout plan just like a fitness trainer in a gym usually does.
My verdict: absolutely good. You can turn your workouts into art having this application at your fingertips.
Make sure you have a sound mind in a sound body with iMind & Mood!
Agree, that not just physical but mental healthcare is also very important. Taking into account the fact how many Americans suffer from different behavioral disorders, stress and depressions it won’t be unnecessary to use one of the mental healthcare apps on your iPhone. Personally I apply the neat program iMind & Mood (the price in the AppStore is $1.99) in order to check the level of my stress.
This smart application has accumulated 30 years of psychiatric experience. It serves as a mental health test giving you an opportunity to recognize the first signs of a mental disorder or disease:
• receive a customized feedback and a thorough analysis after testing yourself on how stressed out you are;
• check the probability percentage of you having an anxiety disorder or depression;
• get customized recommendations where to seek a professional assistance;
• look through the simple self-help tips given by professional psychiatrists;
• you can email the results straight to your therapist to discuss them during the next session.
My verdict: this is a very good application because it is simple to use and pretty much accurate, at least in my case.
How to Choose Health & Fitness Applications for iPhone?
There are about 6.000 health and fitness apps are available in the AppStore right now. It turns to be a headache to choose the best ones among them. Some programs have a lot of useful functions wrapped into a bad-looking interface while the others are too expensive and overrated and seem to be popular only because of a good ad campaign and the well-known developers. To help you separate the wheat from the chaff I recommend taking an advantage of the following guidelines I use on my own when you need to download a decent health iPhone app. So, to what you should pay attention:
Features are essential.
If you have found an app able to fulfill multiple tasks but it has a bit simple, plain interface you still should take it. The more features (working properly) are in one health app the better! Usually fitness and health iPhone apps include such options as nutrition tracker, a calorie counter, a course of workouts (it is preferable to choose the apps with videotutorials demonstrating exercises) and some useful healthcare info.
The interface says it all.
If the interface is easy to use and simple to navigate (a main menu allows accessing all features easily) you have found a good health app. Some programs have too eye-catching interfaces with complicated navigation. In this particular case – the simpler, the better. All features should be easy to find and they have to respond to user’s commands on the fly.
The size of the app does matter!
Consider how much memory of your phone you are ready to give for the health applications. The more images the app contains the more MB of space it will take eventually. Check if the images of the chosen app are included into the program or will get an access to them after the launch via WiFi.
Stability is another crucial point to consider.
Finding a health application working flawlessly without bugs and crashes is a perfection you should aim at. Freezing or slow work are not acceptable especially for the paid apps.
The last but not the least factor to consider is a user support.
The majority of the applications come with a poor user support. Try to choose the apps named by the well-known developers who take care of their customers and can provide some tutorials or a user support in a case of the app’s crash.
As I said, there are a lot of health applications available in the AppStore. I named only few my favorites. Hope, you will share your thoughts on how to use an iPhone to monitor health and what applications to choose to stay safe and sound. Your opinion is important, that is why feel free to leave your comment.
