One of AFMC’s recent blog posts, “Relying on A.I. Applications in the Medical Community,” discusses some of the main uses of artificial intelligence in medicine. While A.I. is pivotal to innovation, efficiency, and practice in the health care industry, the focus must remain on the patient, not the provider. Patients have begun taking charge of their health care decisions. While ease of access to health care is still a barrier for patients in rural areas, technological advancements have helped bridge that gap. Patients now have more control over their health care journey than before. Thus, it’s important that providers stay on top of recent trends in health care technology to remain ahead of the game.
Remote Health Monitoring Apps
Many people have at least one or two health-related apps on their phones. Apps that track a person’s daily steps or monitor sleep patterns are all over the App Store or Google Play store. Technologists have caught on to the trend and developed more sophisticated apps that monitor more critical factors. Here are five FDA-approved health care apps for providers to use in 2023.
Mobile MIM is a medical app that is designed to let doctors share images from radiation oncology, radiology, nuclear medicine, neuroimaging, and cardiac imaging scans. The app allows providers to share “difficult cases” and “overreads.” Through the Mobile MIM app, providers can open studies and review images from anywhere, even if they’re away from their workstations. Because lack of access is such a large barrier to many Arkansans, this app may be beneficial to providers because, instead of referring a patient to a specialist for their opinion, they can send imaging to the specialist via Mobile MIM and receive an answer the next day. This app could also help reduce delays in image distribution.
KardiaMobile by AliveCor is a personal EKG that includes an EKG monitor a patient can hook to the back of their phone. The patient takes the monitor off their phone, places their finger on two pads, and in 30 seconds, they have a reading of their heartbeat. The EKG communicates with the Kardia app on an iPhone to alert patients about their heart rates. It can even detect atrial fibrillation. All results can be emailed to providers so that they stay up to date with a patient’s heart rate.
WellDoc Chronic Care empowers people everywhere to self-manage chronic conditions, including diabetes. This app offers personalized coaches who help patients manage their medication and treatment. Some patient information, such as blood-glucose levels, can even be shared in real time with a provider. There is even evidence-based coaching cleared by the FDA which provide guidance and insight on clinical standards. This app facilitates connection between patients and health care professionals by determining where users need the most help.
Triton OR captures blood loss collected by surgical sponges and suction canisters and can easily be integrated into the operating room workflow. Compared to nurses’ estimates of how much blood a patient has lost during surgery, this app demonstrates more accurate readings. In turn, these more accurate readings lead to better data-based decision-making in the operating room. This app has been tested in various case studies. The FDA has approved the Triton OR app for use in the operating room.
AirStrip ONE consolidates patient data into one place so all clinicians, specialists, and professionals can see patient data in one place. Patient data includes vital signs, allergies, medications, medical images, and lab results, all generated from medical devices. Nurses can use site-installed mobile devices with AirStrip ONE alarms routed to mobile devices. When an alarm goes off, a nurse can click “View Alarm” and have the option to “Acknowledge,” “Escalate,” or “View Waveform” for a direct look at the monitored event that prompted the alarm. With the ability to view waveforms and monitor patients electronically, clinicians can monitor a patient’s vital signs without being directly at their bedside.
