4 Ways Tech Is Filling The Healthcare Gap

Health and wellness apps are a rapidly growing market sector, with consumers excited to take a more active role in their own care – but this growth is a sign of more than just greater engagement. No, users also recognize the practical benefits of new technology, including the ways wearables can reduce or prevent workplace injuries, provide resources in emergency situations, and even take pressure off of overworked emergency rooms. These 4 tools are among the most popular and professional offerings for supporting safety, health, and wellness, whether on a day-to-day basis or in crisis situations.

BlueStar: Watch Your Numbers

According to a 2017 CDC report, over 100 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes, serious conditions that can lead to complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, and amputations. Moreover, diabetes costs over $300 BN each year, which is staggering.

The good news, though, is that with proper care and monitoring, these conditions can be prevented. For those with diabetes or prediabetes, then, apps like BlueStar provide support for meeting diabetes health goals, focusing on lowering individuals’ A1C numbers.

Indeed, BlueStar is just one of many diabetes management tools, with constant glucose monitoring devices transforming how patients address this condition and reducing the likelihood of serious complications like diabetic ketoacidosis and coma.

LemonAid: Avoid The ER

A large number of Americans lack appropriate healthcare, despite efforts to increase insurance coverage rates. That’s why, when uninsured or underinsured individuals get sick, they often head to the emergency room, even when that isn’t necessary. This leads to overcrowded ERs, big bills, and overtaxed services that can’t meet patients’ needs appropriately – but technology offers a solution.

Particularly popular with millennials, new cyberhealth technology such as the app LemonAid allow users to access digital consultations for routine care such as sinus infections, reflux, urinary tract infections, and the flu. Other online services such as HealthTap build on these offerings. A subscription to their services includes referrals to specialists, lab work orders, and access to AI-driven care.

CDC Yellow Book: Travel Safely

No one wants to experience a medical emergency when traveling overseas, especially if you’re in a remote location or don’t speak the local language, but when that happens, the CDC is ready to help. Via their travel health app, the CDC Yellow Book provides travelers with expert advice, including pre-travel vaccine recommendations, destination-based health advice, maps, charts, and other useful information. Featuring the most recent government travel guidelines and advice, the Yellow Book is a must for globe-hoppers.

Meditation Studio: Center Your Mind

Not all health issues are physical; mental health also needs to be a priority and now smartphone users can access key self-care resources from their devices. With affordable programs like the Meditation Studio app, users can improve their sleep, participate in guided meditations led by monks, and otherwise take a moment in the midst of their busy days to ground themselves. With regular practice, meditation can improve overall health, relationships, and even improve focus, and with a portable tool, everyone has time to take a deep breath.

Though many blame technology for worsening physical and mental health outcomes, used correctly these devices support wellness, provide valuable safety tools, and connect people in emergencies. This is technology at its best – putting health management in the hands of consumers.