Updated:
January 4, 2019
Published:
December 7, 2015
Oregon resident Drew Basse owes his life to PulsePoint, a free, location-based mobile health app that connects a person experiencing cardiac arrest with someone nearby who is trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). In Basse’s case, an off-duty firefighter answered the PulsePoint alert.
This high-profile case is just one example of the growing field of heart mobile health.
Today, cardiologists routinely monitor implantable defibrillators and pacemakers via transmitters in patients’ homes, allowing them to keep an eye on how the device is functioning, as well as the patient’s heart rhythm.
Mobile Health and Prevention
Mobile health can also benefit individuals who are trying to prevent or control some of the major risk factors of heart disease like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity/overweight. Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for U.S. men and women. The good news is that it is often preventable.
There are many apps available to download to your smartphone, often at no cost, to help you stay on top of your heart health. While none substitute for care from your healthcare provider, apps can play a valuable role in day-to-day awareness and monitoring.
There are also apps that transform your smartphone to an ECG machine (AliveCor Heart Monitor), and help cardiac patients with nutrition (Fooducate), smoking cessation, and tracking medication (Care4Today™ Mobile Health Manager).
Apps Are Not a Replacement For Personal Care
With apps for both medical and non-medical emergencies, mobile health will succeed on many fronts. It can fill in the gaps in transmission of educational materials to patients and caregivers, create patient engagement through personal data collection and tracking, and ultimately enhance communication between patients and providers.
Apps and other technology certainly will bring the benefits of mobile medicine to the broader population, but rest assured, mobile medicine will never replace physicians and the personal relationship between doctors and their patients.
If you are a patient of Lancaster General Health, you can access your medical record online through our app. Download from MyLGHealth.org.