Mobile Apps That Are Making a Real Difference in Healthcare

It’s pretty amazing how simply downloading an app on your phone can actually help improve your health. The healthcare industry has come a long way, and now there are apps that let you do everything from video chat with a doctor to get medical advice, to remind you when to take your medication. Healthcare apps are getting super popular, with new startups and ideas coming out all the time. Let’s check out some of the coolest healthcare app startups that tons of people are using:

Micromedex

Micromedex is a handy healthcare app with a huge drug database. If you have some health issue, you can easily look up drug recommendations based on your symptoms. It also has a ton of info about specific drugs, like dosage instructions, potential side effects, and more. It’s super easy to use, updated monthly, and you don’t even need an internet connection.

This app is available on iOS and Android. The basic Micromedex Drug Reference app is free if you have an online Micromedex subscription. If not, there’s a non-subscriber version called Micromedex Drug Essentials.

WebMD App

WebMD is a super comprehensive healthcare app. It includes WebMD’s Symptom Checker, info about drugs and treatments, first aid info, and local health listings. You can use the Symptom Checker by selecting the part of your body that’s bothering you, entering your symptoms, and getting info on possible issues. You can also research conditions, access a huge drug database, identify medications, get treatment tips, and find nearby hospitals, doctors or pharmacies. Plus, you can access first-aid info without an internet connection.

The WebMD app is free and available on Android and iOS.

Epocrates

Epocrates is a wildly popular drug reference app used by healthcare providers, students, and doctors. It’s known for its massive drug database with dosing info, side effects, safety tips, pharmacology details, and more. It also has handy drug interaction and pill identifier features. You can even contact drug manufacturers directly if needed.

The basic Epocrates app is free, but there’s also a paid version with extra features like info on alternative meds, clinical practice guidelines, details on medical conditions, and more. It’s on Android and iOS.

Doctor on Demand

Doctor on Demand lets you video chat with a doctor right from your phone. Doctors can assess symptoms, diagnose, and even prescribe medications for common issues like colds, infections, and allergies. They also have psychologists who treat things like depression, stress, addictions, and relationship problems.

You get access to over 1,400 medical doctors and 300 mental health professionals. You can view their profiles and pick the best one for your needs. If you’re unsure how it works, there are explanatory pages and videos.

You can download Doctor on Demand for free on Android or iOS. But you do have to pay for the actual consultation. Prices vary based on the type of specialist. Medical doctors are the cheapest, then psychologists, and psychiatrists are the most expensive. Some insurance plans may provide coverage too.

UpToDate

UpToDate is a wildly popular online healthcare service used by individuals and healthcare organizations. They have a website and app. The app lets you get answers to any clinical question by searching their massive database of medical articles and guidelines. It’s constantly updated and reviewed by industry experts. There’s also a great library of medical calculators and a language converter. The only catch is it requires an internet connection.

You can download UpToDate on Android and iOS, but there’s a paid subscription required after a free trial period.

Round Health

Round Health markets itself as an easier way to remember to take your medicine. It’s a medication reminder and scheduling app to help you remember your pills. If you need something more robust than basic phone reminders, Round Health aims to make pill-taking easier and more effective. Just enter your meds, dosage, and schedule, and you’ll get handy “reminder windows” so your pills pop up right when you need them.

There’s even a built-in pill calendar for birth control pills and reminders for placebo pills.

Round Health is free to download and use on iOS devices.

Red Panic Button

Red Panic Button can be super helpful in an emergency. Just press the red button to instantly send texts and emails to your emergency contacts with your location. You enter your own list of people to notify if you need help. If anything happens, press the button and your contacts will get an alert with your GPS coordinates or network-based location. You can also connect it to Facebook and Twitter.

Red Panic Button works on all Android and iOS devices. It’s free to download with optional in-app purchases like removing ads, adding photo/video/audio to alerts, etc.

Now let’s look at some fitness apps, since fitness is a key part of healthcare:

Zombies, Run!

Zombies, Run! gamifies your workouts by putting you in an audio adventure story. As you run, you take on missions to collect supplies and evade zombies to help rebuild civilization. There are lots of missions to choose from with different paces. You can also listen to your own music library while running. And you can share your progress on ZombieLink and compare with friends.

This app is free on Android and iOS with optional in-app purchases. There’s also a Pro version with over 200 unlocked story missions, interval training, and more.

StrongLifts 5×5

StrongLifts 5×5 is an app to help you get stronger, burn calories, and get healthier. It uses a simple system of 5 main strength exercises – Squats, Bench Presses, Deadlifts, Overhead Presses, and Barbell Rows. You alternate between 2 full-body workouts, A and B, that include 3 moves each (Squats are in both). You train 3 days a week, doing 5 sets of 5 reps of each move (except Deadlifts which are 1 set of 5). The app gives you the workout plan, weight increases, and rest times.

StrongLifts 5×5 is free on Android and iOS with optional in-app purchases.

Lose It!

As you may have guessed, Lose It! helps you lose weight. It tracks your food and exercise. Enter your stats and goal, and it creates a custom weight loss plan. Easily log meals and exercise by searching or scanning its huge database. Connect with other apps and devices. It tailors nutrition and fitness recs to help you lose weight and stay healthy.

Lose It! is free on Android and iOS with a premium subscription option.

Strava

Strava is an app for tracking and analyzing your runs and bike rides. Record your active sessions, then review performance metrics and compete against others. It does an awesome job tracking distance, speed, calories, heart rate, cadence, and more. Check out your stats in easy to understand graphs. Interact with and compete against the active Strava community. Set challenges to improve. It integrates with lots of GPS and activity trackers too.

Like the others, Strava is free on Android and iOS with premium features available.

Sworkit

With Sworkit you can create custom workouts or use preset plans. It offers a huge library of exercise videos featuring different trainers. Tell it what type of workout you want (e.g. cardio, yoga, strength) and how much time you have. Pick your workout and follow along with the video trainers. So you can get a complete workout anywhere without equipment or a gym. It can also sync with Google Fit and MyFitnessPal.

Sworkit is free on Android and iOS. There’s also a Premium version with extras like ad-free workouts, exercises for seniors and beginners, unlimited custom plans, and ask-a-trainer support.

As you can see, mobile apps have really changed healthcare for the better. They continue to make healthcare more efficient, accessible and helpful by introducing great new features. Developing a successful healthcare app startup with useful functions and valuable content is a fantastic business idea. The apps mentioned here have clearly demonstrated that. Healthcare mobile apps are making a real difference!