Good communication between patients and healthcare providers is
essential in quality healthcare delivery, particularly in arriving at
an accurate diagnosis, administering appropriate treatment, and
ensuring a quality outcome for the patient. However, in most cases,
typical communication channels, such as a face-to-face consultation or
telephone call, fall short of providing a convenient and efficient
avenue for patients to consult their physicians, especially for those
with an ongoing medical condition. Hence, using mobile technology to
fill in information gaps and ensure good quality care has become very
useful.
If some of the most forward-looking apps are anything to go by, these
technological advances may change the nature of the patient-provider
relationship. Mobile apps offer safeguarded messaging, video calls,
and diagnostic tools that enable secure, two-way communication and
rapid access to health. We think of technology as a way of speaking.
This new phase of innovation is going beyond the original ambit of
telemedicine – using digital technology to substitute physical
healthcare services – to embrace ‘medicine,’ in which the interactions
between patients and healthcare professionals are enhanced, and the
best elements are saved from their context of origin. Medical apps
following this logic enable people to ask their doctor questions or
share insights into their changing health status without the burden of
in-person visits. It’s convenient, sure, but the benefits are more
prominent than that. Communication can happen promptly, which is
particularly salient when managing chronic conditions or addressing
urgent issues.
The core subject of this article is how patient-provider communication
has radically changed for the better by using healthcare mobile apps.
With secure HIPAA-compliant messaging, real-time data sharing, and
telehealth tools and features, mobile apps are sit-ups for
communication in the healthcare industry. Using this blog post, we
will have a closer look at these changes with more insight into how
mobile apps provide these features and benefit the overall experience,
along with the challenges users still face and what the future holds
for developers who want to bring more advancements and changes to
patient-provider communication through mobile technologies.
Good communication between patients and their healthcare providers is
the foundation of all excellent patient care. Without it, patients are
less likely to feel they have comprehended their diagnoses, the
courses of treatment offered, and the required next steps involving
follow-up or self-care. Patients will be less inclined to get the
medicines prescribed by their physicians, less likely to ask
questions, and less likely to feel they can assume some responsibility
for their wellness. Good communication also helps providers to get an
accurate understanding of patient symptoms, deliver the appropriate
guidance, and respond to the patient’s clinical concerns in an
appropriate manner and within a reasonable amount of time. This latter
point is particularly relevant in delivering good care for acute
illnesses and the chronic conditions that many people face in our
fast-changing world.
On the other hand, many basic impediments can undermine patient and
provider communication. Because office visits are often short,
patients might not have all their questions addressed or might leave
the visit unsure of the diagnosis and a plan of action. Sometimes, the
patient must wait until the next office visit to contact a provider,
making accessibility a severe concern. Communication gaps can be
created by medical jargon or differences in language. With such a wide
range of possible issues, patients benefit from healthcare mobile apps
that provide more flexible means to communicate with their providers.
By bridging the usual gaps between patients and providers arising from
conflicting schedules and constraints, mobile apps can facilitate a
more direct and clear relationship between patients and their care
team. For example, patients grappling with chronic illnesses could
contact their physicians via mobile phone to discuss how to manage
their condition better. What about patients who need to follow up
after undergoing treatment but have a busy schedule that makes it
difficult to go in for another visit – or have blocks of free time at
work that they can use for asking their doctor about how to reduce the
side effects of medicine? For patients with urgent issues, mobile apps
can offer them a tangible solution to a common – and often frustrating
– scenario: sitting on hold for hours while trying to get to their
doctor’s office.
The most distinctive feature of healthcare mobile apps is that they
can promote real-time communication, such as video consultations and
asynchronous messaging, whereby either patients or their healthcare
providers can post messages or health updates and be responsive at
their convenience. Video consultations allow patients to ‘visit’ their
providers virtually and provide access to care without an office
visit. In contrast, for non-urgent health issues and routine care,
asynchronous messaging can broaden the interaction between patients
and their providers and correct the lack of interaction. This
combination helps mobile apps shed light on paternalistic, top-down
interactions in traditional provider-patient relationships.
Many health apps have dedicated internal communications structures with secure, HIPAA-compliant messaging systems to keep communications between providers and patients private and protected. Patients can ask questions, request a prescription refill, or seek follow-up advice through the app, knowing that communications are fully secure. As a bonus, patients no longer need to call their doctors or visit the office for minor issues. However, all communications remain protected by the strictest data privacy standards.
Video consultations, a hallmark of many health apps, allow you to ‘visit’ your physician or provider virtually and thus bring you healthcare rather than traveling to your provider. With video consultations, patients can forgo traveling to a healthcare facility and conduct their follow-up or primary care appointments safely and comfortably at home. This feature of health apps is handy for patients who live in distant or rural areas or have mobility issues related to their age or disabilities.
Patients can view appointment schedules on mobile apps and create overlapping schedules, allowing scheduling and rescheduling visits at the touch of a button. Patients can also set reminders about specific appointments, resulting in less confusion surrounding when to show up and reduced missed visits. This automated feature also relieves employees at the clinic from additional administrative work.
Some healthcare apps also allow patients to share experience health data – maybe their vital signs, blood pressure, or indications of symptoms – in real-time with their providers, allowing providers to better supervise their patients’ health at all points in time and make data-driven decisions regarding their care, especially for patients with chronic conditions who may require more proactive management and timely intervention without needing them to come in for in-person appointments frequently.
Healthcare mobile apps help patients access providers without having to drive in to make physical appointments, and the likelihood of answers being available at a time when they could makes it even more user-friendly. Healthcare mobile apps provide an easy way for patients to communicate with their providers without coming into or calling the office. These apps provide convenience to patients because questions can be asked at any time of the day and from various locations. This is beneficial to patients who are homebound due to a poor-quality disability and residing in rural areas with limited access to medical services. Whether the patient suffers from a chronic health condition or a new symptom, patients can access health care services from a home setting, which is often much desired.
The direct, real-time communication channel between the patient and the care team provided by mobile apps encourages patient engagement with their healthcare. Features such as secure messaging and video consultations have made it easy for patients to contact their care team, facilitating immediate communications that promote patient engagement. With better support, patients can become more attentive to their health needs and more active in seeking the care they need as it becomes more accessible and transparent. They can better follow up with their care plans, improving compliance and health outcomes.
Many of these apps integrate ‘condition-specific’ educational resources (also sometimes referred to as self-management tools) into their program, such as articles, videos, and symptom checkers, to help patients navigate their health diagnoses or conditions. These tools offer real-time answers to common health questions and concerns, allowing people to evaluate the options available for their care. Because health information is integrated into apps, patients are better equipped to ask their providers more meaningful questions by providing examples from credible sources that help guide the conversation and feel more confident in managing their health and care.
By automating appointment scheduling, follow-ups, calls for payment, including rescheduling, and communicating with patients, all of which currently absorb provider and staff time, healthcare mobile apps reduce administrative burden substantially. Patients can even prioritize their ways of communicating with physicians. For instance, patients can schedule appointments through the app and receive automatic reminders. Administrative staff can then focus on more complicated tasks. Moreover, secure messaging can replace office phone calls and non-secure emails, necessitating excessive administrative time, enabling physicians to sustain patient interactions easily through a single platform.
Apps can empower patients to communicate effectively with a provider, who can respond to their requests faster and more conveniently. Secure messaging, notifications, and ancillary care notices are business as usual. They empower patients and providers to achieve greater quality of care by identifying and addressing symptoms before they develop into problems. Patient care no longer takes up much of a practitioner’s time. Mobile apps enable asynchronous communication that can fit into any person’s schedule, allowing patients to get help at their convenience and providers to manage their time effectively.
Apps also allow healthcare providers to track patients’ status remotely, receiving regular updates on health metrics, symptoms, or behaviors such as drug adherence. Remote monitoring keeps patients more visible during their treatment and lets providers flag and correct non-adherence to treatment plans at the earliest signs of a change. Enabling regular data flows will lead to better health outcomes and greater adherence to treatment for patients with chronic conditions and other needs that demand ongoing care.
Sophisticated AI-powered chatbots and predictive analytics are making
patient-provider communication and top-notch healthcare accessible to
all through mobile apps. By answering basic queries and providing
reminders about medication, AI chatbots can relieve healthcare
providers from answering common medical questions and offer instant
support for patients whenever needed. Through the use of predictive
analytics to process real-time data of the patients, underlying health
conditions can be screened even before the disorders become serious.
With this technology, healthcare providers will be better equipped to
make timely clinical predictions and take proactive steps towards
providing personalized care while observing the trends of the
patient’s health in the recent past. As a result, communication
between healthcare providers and patients will improve, and care will
become more effective.
Meanwhile, mobile apps have become integral to telemedicine and remote
patient monitoring, two major components of modern healthcare
delivery. As telehealth services grow and evolve, mobile apps now
allow providers to remotely monitor and treat patients via virtual
consultations, allowing them to receive care outside of conventional
office hours from wherever they are located, particularly beneficial
in rural areas or areas that may be underserved. Mobile apps also
extend patient monitoring by connecting with remote patient monitoring
devices, allowing providers to track vital signs, manage chronic
conditions, and adjust treatment plans in real-time. With a growing
reliance on telemedicine and remote monitoring, mobile apps allow
providers to establish regular lines of communication, improve care
continuity, and ensure that patients consistently receive the quality
of care they need, wherever they happen to be.
To conclude, healthcare mobile apps are revolutionizing the way patients and doctors communicate by providing a convenient, accessible, and efficient form of interaction. These apps can connect patients to their providers through secure messaging or video consultations and by creating engagement methods and improved comprehension of novel health issues. With the advent of new technologies like AI and predictive analytics, the efficacy of communication will only improve and further close gaps in care. With mobile apps in hand, healthcare professionals can now simplify their workflow, respond promptly to patient’s needs, and monitor patients more extensively, all of which would help improve health outcomes and create a more connected relationship between patients and their providers.