Healthcare apps have taken the front row in innovation. Mobile app technology has branched into the healthcare industry. Understanding the cost that can be reduced when people are always informed about their health status will make them switch fully to the use of health hazard appraisal mobile applications. Such applications set us on a path to an ideal world. One of the reasons why prevention is better than cure is that the cost of preventing a disease is way less than the cost of curing a disease.
People who are into weight training and fitness use risk or hazard assessment apps. Doctors also recommend these apps to people who have chronic diseases and thus require accurate monitoring.
Indian app developers have also created applications that check health risks that come from the environment. These apps are mostly for people that do certain types of jobs where they can come in contact with unhealthy chemicals. For example, mining jobs, chemical producing companies, and construction companies.
→ There are various types of health appraisal apps, but the following are common.
1. Apps for people at risk of developing chronic diseases:
Conditions like high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases require a lot of monitoring from both the doctors and the patients. Since patients don't have the training to monitor it as good as the doctors, mobile app developers have created apps that help patients monitor such conditions when the doctors are not present. A family with a history of diabetes can always avail its members(when they become of age) with mobile apps that check blood glucose levels because it lowers the chance of getting the disease.
Such diseases are monitored by apps known as risk calculators. Cardiovascular Risk Calculators monitor cardiovascular diseases. This particular app was formulated the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. Mobile app development companies create and update both the mobile app and web interfaces. The diagnosis of the apps are based on blood test results, prevailing health conditions, and age. It uses data above to calculate the patient's probability of having heart issues in the nearest future. These probabilities are calculated with the information presented by the World Health Organization in their Risk Tables.
Furthermore, cardiovascular risk calculators are still used especially by general practitioners and family doctors. Physicians or nurses also use the application. The risk calculators are not restricted to the benefit of doctors alone. It covers a general pool of audience.
The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have practice guidelines that aid the predictions of another calculator-like app. The two American institutions consider cholesterol levels, blood pressures, and obesity linked BMI (Body Mass Index), all of which are common risk factors. Such calculators are poor in evaluating current health risks and access their trends - how they increase with time or otherwise.
Another serious chronic condition that requires adequate monitoring is Type 2 Diabetes. App developers have created diabetes risk calculator apps to help those that have likelihoods of developing diabetes. Also, mobile app developers create some apps with clinicians in mind. Others are for patients, and they provide valuable health advice and alert patients on due intervals for a health check.
Another example of a health hazard assessment app is the Brisk. It is used to monitor the conditions of women that have a family history of breast cancer. It is also used to monitor ovarian cancer.
2. Apps for an individual that is health conscious:
Quealth is a health risk appraisal app that is created by a United Kingdom company, Roadtohealth. The application is found for free on the Google Play Store and is used by people that are generally health conscious to access the risk of developing some ailments that are preventable to a good extent.
The app advises users on lifestyle tips that will help reduce the risks of developing a certain ailment. The steps the app recommends is based on recent guidelines given be authoritative medical institutions.
Other apps like
WellRight is inclined to set goals and monitor users as they follow the WellRight Wellness Program.
3. Health hazard appraisal apps that monitor company environments and its effect on employees.
As mentioned above, app developers have created applications that check the environment for toxic substances that can be harmful to people. Examples are E-FAST (Exposure and Fate Assessment Screening Tool) for checking the concentration of chemicals in the environment, Security Risk Assessment Survey which is customizable and can be used to access mechanical risks at construction sites and office buildings.
→ Challenges of developing and promoting a health hazard appraisal apps.
1. Getting a copyrighted algorithm or getting a third-party algorithm that accesses health risks for a specific grade of users.
To run health hazard assessments, you need statistical data, and you need to calculate a lot of probabilities. So to avert the heck of it, app development companies create these apps based on available medical guidelines from renowned healthcare institutions.
Developing your own algorithm anew is clearly more expensive and time-consuming. It also requires full cooperation with a good number of healthcare experts.
2. Building an embroiling or engaging user experience.
Feeling your app with medical vocabulary can single-handedly bore visitors. Health risk assessment apps built with very professional presence always seems stressful to users, and no matter how important it seems, most users never come back to go through the 'difficult' tests.
Health risk assessment apps must engage the users both in the course of usage and in the course of follow-up. Room for interactions should be featured in the app and updates should frequently be displayed. The app should always improve upon the advice it gives to the users in order not to look stale.
3. Acquiring a risk assessment app with approval from the FDA or the medical institutions.
The fact that these health risk assessment mobile apps can thrive in the stead of a doctor has made them legal liabilities. The FDA also sees these apps as medical devices because they run very complex calculations in the medical field. They have to be submitted to the FDA for approval before they are released for public use. So, before developing health hazard appraisal apps, consulting the FDA for guidelines will be very advisable. Larger health portals can also house health risk assessment apps or web apps.
Having a health risk assessment app is quite valuable. Its benefits can be compared to the benefits of actually visiting a doctor. It goes further to equip health conscious users with valuable recommendations to keep them healthy and help them make decisions that affect their well-being positively.