4 Smartphone Apps That Even Your Doctor Would Use
With hundreds of available apps aimed to help you stay healthy and get healthy, it can be hard to know which apps you can rely on. The following are apps either used by or recommended by doctors:
1. Epocrates: Understand Medications and Drug Interactions
Used regularly by Dr. Rajkomar in New York, Epocrates allows you to search its extensive database for drug information and proper drug dosage. It is also great for checking interactions between drugs. The app allows you to check up to 30 drugs at a time for problematic drug interaction, making it the perfect partner for working with Canadadrugcenter.com. Not only can you learn about brand and generic medication, you can also identify drugs based on their description or imprint code.
2. iPregnancy: Stay Organized and Informed for Prenatal Doctor Visits and Care
Image via iTunes
Medical apps can do a lot more than give you a pocket guide to medical terms and medications, however. The iPregnancy app makes it easy to track your pregnancy, remember appointments and tests, and keep your memories. The journal section even has space for storing baby names, notes, ultrasound images, and pictures.
But that is just the beginning of what this app can do. The Today section shows you what day, week, or month you are on, how many have passed, and how many you have to go. The OB Visits section is also incredibly detailed, updating you on what prenatal care you may need or what tests or exams you can expect. Have a question for the doctor? There is a section for recording questions. Want to remember everything the doctor says? There’s plenty of room for writing down what you learn during the appointment.
3. Eye Test: Check Your Vision Level or Colorblindness
Image via Flickr by marcopako
This optometry app is useful for both professionals and lay persons interested in checking their vision. You can test your vision with a Snellen chart, or you can check for colorblindness with a variety of tests and examples. The tests are also an interesting comparison for those who want to know what it is like to be colorblind. Finally, visual illusion examples and games offer a fun and interesting way to see how your eyesight works, and how these illusions can trick you.
4. eCBT Calm: Manage Your Stress, Anxiety, and Thoughts
Image via iTunes
Full of step by step guides, this mental health app offers lots of guides, relaxation techniques, support, and background information on dealing with stress, anxiety, and other states of mind. The app gets its name from Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), the type of therapy this app most identifies with. While certainly no replacement for mental health services, it can be a great booster tool to help you manage your emotional life on a day-to-day basis. The exercises and guides are more than brainstormed suggestions—they have been scientifically supported by research within the field of psychology.
There are many other scientifically supported apps available today. Has your doctor suggested an app to you?
Miles, I’ve only previously used one of these four apps–Epocrates. Personally, my favorite medical app is UpToDate Mobile–thought it’s probably prohibitively expensive for how often the average person would use it(You need an annual UpToDate subscription ($449 per year) plus an annual fee for the mobile app (about $50.) In terms of free medical apps, Medscape is very good.