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With more and more healthcare applications being developed for smartphones, it’s time to tap your way to great health. Last year, users were spoilt for choice with 10,000 such applications – twice the number from the year before.
Many of these are reference apps providing information on health issues, such as the signs and symptoms of diabetes. Other apps are more interactive, allowing users to personalise the advice, and letting patients monitor their own condition.
Healthcare apps are great at providing quick, crucial access to information, especially for people on the move or those with existing conditions. Such apps also promote a strong sense of self-involvement towards general health and well-being.
But not all the medical information out there is reliable. There is no central authority monitoring the medical accuracy of healthcare apps. So it may be difficult for the average person to discern the trusty apps from the rest.
Also, foreign-launched apps – mostly catering to Caucasians -- may not necessarily work well for Asians.
The solution? Download apps from reputable local healthcare organisations. You can also discuss which healthcare app to use with your doctor. Lastly, don’t just follow an app’s guidance – like monitoring high blood pressure – and leave it at that. Seek proper medical guidance when you have to. An app can’t replace a doctor.
Top 5 health apps to download
1. Health Buddy (Free)
What it does: Just launched for all smartphones, this app features weekly health tips, health-related videos and alerts to the latest health news and events. You can also research conditions, diseases and treatment procedures (with accurate information provided by SingHealth’s medical doctors and healthcare professionals), find a nearby General Practitioner (GP), as well as make appointments with specialists.
We love: How it makes life easier for you by sorting out healthy lifestyle practices into categories, like women’s and men’s health topics. You can send a query to a specialist on a specific health topic each month. It also includes the opening hours of most GP clinics in town! There’s a nifty phone call function to initiate enquiries and appointment bookings from within the app. It’s available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices.
App details here.
2. iDat (Free)
What it does: This fully integrated app is designed to track food intake and physical activity, as well as calculate a user’s calorie balance. It uses a scientifically based algorithm specially designed for Singaporeans – its calorie recommendations take into consideration our Asian body types and local working lifestyles. That way, you can set realistic fitness goals by figuring out how much to eat or exercise daily in order to maintain a healthy weight.
We love: How “sociable” it is. It has its own social online community for users to motivate and “challenge” each other, or organise group activities such as charity walks. Even organisations or groups may create their own online communities for campaigns or programmes.
App details here.
3. Women & Child HealthPedia (Free)
What it does: Developed by KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, this app provides useful information on women’s and children’s healthcare. There’s a comprehensive list of women’s and children’s services within the hospital, including in-house experts (you can easily make an appointment after viewing the information), as well as a hospital map.
We love: The Singapore-based Pregnancy Planner, which features useful tips on the best foods to eat and whether to believe old wives’ tales. It even lists types of tests you should be going for. You can personalise your own menstruation period, estimated delivery date and/or gestation period on the Pregnancy Planner.
App details here.
4. Rheumatoid Arthritis (Free)
What it does: Rheumatoid arthritis is characterised by inflammation and swelling of the joints. Launched by SingHealth and Singapore General Hospital, this questionnaire-based app collects info on the patient’s daily activities and general health, so that pain levels can be monitored. It also tracks medication effects and disease progression.
We love: How it helps rheumatoid arthritis patients and caregivers track pain and activity levels in a systematic and research-validated way between doctor's appointments.
App details here.
5. SG Blood (Free)
What it does: This has a calendar listing all upcoming Bloodmobile locations, a calculator to show you when you can next donate blood, contacts for blood donation centres in Singapore and also a simple FAQ about blood donation. Time to give blood, give life!
We love: How it accurately records the exact date of your last blood donation, and also pinpoints the exact location of the next Bloodmobile event.
App details here. |