Physician Apps that Help Increase Patient Communication

It has been said that the future of healthcare is resting firmly in your hands. And, thanks to physician apps, it just may be true. 

According to a report by the QuintilesIMS Institute, there are currently more than 40,000 healthcare apps available for download from the United States Apple iTunes app store. Some are physician apps that provide easy access to important information and resources. Some are designed to help patients prevent illness and injury. Others are engineered to improve and increase patient communication. 

As physicians know, communication is critically important when it comes to keeping patients healthy. It improves diagnostic accuracy, advances the rate of adherence and leads to increased patient satisfaction. 

And, thanks to certain physician apps, the ability to improve patient communication is resting firmly in the palm of your hand. 

Here’s a look at five of the best physician apps for increasing patient communication:

1) Doctella

It happens every day. A patients walk out of their doctors’ offices and immediately wishes they’d have asked another couple of questions about their upcoming surgical procedures. 

A few may circle back and try to catch you in your office. Some might call and ask a nurse. Most suffer in silence, worrying about questions and concerns that likely could have been easily ameliorated if they had only thought to ask.

Doctella is a mobile app designed to provide patients with a list of questions to ask their physicians before surgeries and procedures. It’s free and effective–and can be recommended to patients prior to procedures. 

Learn more about Doctella. 

2) Touch Voice

As the country’s population ages, more people are living with speech impairments. In fact, nearly 18 million U.S. adults report having problems with their voices each year, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders. 

The Touch Voice app is a medical grade speaking app designed to help patients communicate with physicians through speech synthesis. 

It’s a valuable app for physicians caring for stroke patients, people with ALS or traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, MS, laryngeal cancer, Parkinson’s diseases and other conditions that affect the ability to speak. 

Learn more about the Touch Voice app. 

3) Canopy Speak

According to the United States Census Bureau, there are more than 25 million people living in the country who speak little or no English.

Language barriers in the emergency department can be deadly. Thankfully, there is a physician app called Canopy Speak, which is a mobile library of thousands of medical phrases that can be translated into dozens of different languages. The app also allows for live connections with medical interpreters. 

And it’s free. 

Learn more about Canopy Speak. 

4) VisualIDX

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, especially in the exam room.

VisualIDX allows you to quickly search by diagnosis or drug-induced adverse reactions by medication to find photos of various conditions. It’s a tool that can improve your diagnostic accuracy and help educate patients about their conditions while in the exam room. 

You spend a lot of time and words explaining the condition, but sometimes a picture is simply more effective. 

Learn more about VisualIDX. 

5) Visual Anatomy

Visual Anatony is another picture-based app that is most commonly used by students and can help you educate your patients. Its detailed images are great for helping patients understand conditions, ailments and common injuries involving bones, ligaments and muscles. 

Again, sometimes a picture is worth more than words during exams.  

Learn more about the Visual Anatomy app. 

*Elliot Health System does not endorse specific technology highlighted in blogs – all references are for the purpose of awareness of new medical technology only.

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