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My new generic mobile device has transformed my life. It took a while to work out how to use it, but when it was recently lost it is fair to say that I nearly lost my mind. The device was found and my mind was restored, but my heavy reliance on the thing became apparent. I am of the pre-internet generation who were lucky to have one land-line phone in the house and I once vowed that I would never ever get a mobile phone, failing entirely to see the need. How times, and I, have changed.

Healthcare is also changing rapidly and I am interested to see if such mobile technology can transform how we deliver healthcare, as effectively as it has changed how we run our own lives. There are many who think that it can. Private companies in the US are currently developing software to bring together all the evidence on a particular disease and translate it into an ‘app’, with data that is understandable to the patient user. New technologies are being created for self-monitoring and apps are being launched through social network sites. These companies support the theory that we need free, reliable and independent health information, as this enables the patient to make the best health decisions that are un-biased and well informed. Information is power and that power should quite rightly be in the hands of the patient in an easy to use, up to date and accurate app.

 

Apps are now available to diagnose symptoms, track calorie intake and expenditure, get fit, monitor mood swings, quit smoking, meditate or seek spiritual guidance – all through the touch screen in your back pocket.

 

Doctors too, are increasingly using apps to keep up with medical news and developments. According to doctors.net.co.uk the largest network of medical professionals in the UK, around 4,000 now use an app each month.

The US is ahead of the game with health apps and a group of technology developers recently launched a ‘seed accelerator’ in San Francisco offering $20,000, start up advice, office space and mentorship to entrepreneurs with early stage ideas. Unsurprisingly this is a hot subject on Twitter (@RockHealthFund). It will be interesting to follow the success of this type of fund, the apps that emerge from it and the way that both the US and the UK healthcare economies embrace or reject this type of technology to enhance patient experience.

 

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