Key takeaways:
- Health apps like Nerva, which offers a six-week hypnotherapy program with symptom tracking, help patients take more control of their own healthcare.
- Before recommending an app, physicians should counsel patients on its download, cost, content, tools, evidence base, program requirements, usability, and expected outcomes.
- Patients should understand that an app will not cure them on its own; it is one tool in their toolbox, and using it as intended maximizes its benefit.
- Spending a few extra minutes educating patients about a recommended app increases their understanding and can motivate them to begin using it.
How apps are here to help
Perhaps the most popular use of technology today is the development of phone apps that allow patients to learn about their health, monitor their symptoms, treat some conditions, and so forth.
Some medical conditions are, of course, ‘better suited’ to this. For example, patients have been using apps for diabetes for years. App functionalities range from allowing patients to sync their glucometers with their apps to learn about healthy lifestyle choices or track their intake.
Others include hypnotherapy for health conditions such as IBS. The Nerva app allows patients to follow a six-week hypnotherapy program, track their symptoms, and connect this data to their healthcare provider.
Other apps help patients monitor their blood pressure, track their mood, journal their emotions, time their ovulation, and more. Apps that help patients with their health conditions are certainly a popular choice because they enable them to take control of their healthcare.
However, before sending a patient off with a recommendation to use an app for their health, physicians must know how to counsel their patients about using the app. By taking the time to educate patients about the app, how to use it, its benefits, and risks, you are increasing the likelihood that they will benefit from it.
