The future of healthcare – is it in the app?

I remember my first mobile phone – it was a Motorola, a huge brick that simply made phone calls and sent text messages. My next phone had the ability to enter a customised ringtone by pressing the keys in sequence, yielding the tune when played back– I thought it was amazing.

Now I’ve got a jazzy smartphone that not only makes calls, sends text messages and lets me use real songs as ringtones but connects to the internet, receives emails, takes pictures and allows me to download apps aimed at making my life that little bit easier and healthier. Hasn’t the mobile phone become wonderful?

Not only has mobile internet changed the way we interact with people through social media like Twitter and Facebook, but the iPhone in particular looks set to revolutionise healthcare. Companies are developing apps to monitor blood pressure and diabetes, all through your phone. In essence, the apps allow you to collect real time data and save it to a personal online account or upload it to your doctor’s surgery.

While it sounds very convenient, I’m wondering just how easy it is to use and what the cost implications are. First of all you have to download the app – the price of these can vary considerably as it is, and if you want the most reliable, you’ll have to fork out for the best app.

And what about the extras? For the Withings Blood Pressure Monitor, you’ll have to part with 81 of your hard-earned pounds for the device – which apparently resembles the cuff the doctor uses to take your blood pressure – plus another £62 if you want the iHealth Blood Pressure iPod Dock.

It sounds easy enough to use – attach the device to your iPhone and take your blood pressure. Your information is recorded in an online account which you can access via your phone, iPod Touch or iPad. The dock allows you to monitor and track your blood pressure via any of these devices too.

But that’s over £140. In the UK, a simple trip to the doctors will tell you if you need to keep an eye on blood pressure and they’ll even throw in the equipment for you to do so – so this is just an unnecessary expense.

“In essence, the apps allow you to collect real time data and save it to a personal online account or upload it to your doctor’s surgery”

Perhaps in America – where the app has been developed and where free healthcare is unavailable – the set up could prove useful for those worried about their blood pressure, but it can’t really replace a visit to the doctor’s surgery, nor the invaluable advice they would offer.

I also stumbled across a potentially useful app from WellDoc – a US-based health software company – the DiabetesManager. The app – designed for patients and healthcare professionals dealing with type 2 diabetes – is currently being tested in several pilot studies.

It collects real time data on blood sugar levels – although how it does this is unclear – and analyses it for trends. If it spots, for example, a low blood sugar trend, a built-in program offers advice on how to correct it and other lifestyle tips to remind users how to manage the disease in a consistent way.

Both data and analysis can be sent to healthcare providers via the phone/internet allowing the patient’s doctors to track them remotely and respond without needing appointments. The direct link to the doctor could prove useful – if not lifesaving in some cases – and I can see an app like this being quite popular.

So the humble mobile phone is no longer just a tool to call and text people; it is now a device we use to email and surf the internet. It seems the app – a relatively recent development – has graduated from fun games and communication tools to applications capable of monitoring and improving our health. It might even become a lifesaver.