The Health TechZone went mobile this week as industry players released a number of new apps designed to provide decision support for patients while fostering patient engagement. Let's take a look at some of these new apps and how they help patients to manage their health.
DuoChart develops medical translation apps that allow English-speaking doctors to communicate with patients who speak limited English. This week, DuoCharts announced the release of an English-Setswana app designed to help medical providers communicate with patients and colleagues in Botswana.
Working together, linguistics faculty from the University of Botswana and the Botswana-UPenn Partnership designed the app and coded it. The app was then sent to DuoChart for field testing and fine-tuning. The app is available in the App Store and in Google Play.
Another app released this week, the mySugr Companion app, helps people with diabetes track their blood sugar and nutrition information. The app ‘gamifies’ blood sugar tracking by adding a cute little "diabetes monster" on the homepage. If the patient's blood sugar reading is within the target range, then the little monster mewls in pain. By the end of the day, the patient's goal is to vanquish the monster.
The new FitStar app lets you get fit by working out virtually with NFL Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez. Users can choose from a variety of goals, such as "Get Moving," "Get Strong" and "Get Lean," and the experience is customized to the user's fitness level. The content can also stream to the user's television for a better workout experience. Currently, the FitStar app is only available for iOS users, although the company hopes to release an Android version after gathering feedback from the iOS community.
To learn more about how mobility is a great development for healthcare providers, join HealthTechZone senior editor Tony Rizzo and presenters from SAP and Symphony Teleca for a webinar entitled "The Right Medicine: Mobile Solutions for Healthcare" at 2 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 12.
Until then, make sure to check up on the latest happenings in healthcare technology by tuning into HealthTechZone's Health TechZone.
