The relationship between a physician and their patient can be complicated – on the one hand, the patient has to come back for scheduled visits to address concerns that physicians often label “urgent”, and on the other hand, it often seems that there is no real sense of urgency. You go in for one appointment, have a few tests done, and have to wait weeks or maybe even months for the next appointment.
What’s even more concerning is the fact that some of the more rare and serious illnesses require special doctors who are often overbooked. The result is that a significant percentage of patients just have to deal with the wait and uncertainty that comes with it. Conventional patient-physician communication has been greatly hindered by a gauntlet of legalities and procedures. Fortunately, mobile apps and modern networking tendencies are promising to fix some of these issues in the near future.
Simplifying Treatment and Communication
Instead of having to rely on contacting a receptionist over the phone, future generations may be able to keep a direct chat dialog with their physician. Doctors’ offices are already using unified networking to log and share patient data in the appropriate health record systems, so the logical next step would be for a similar system to be set up for patients so that they can have quick access to physician notes and instructions. Developers like DeviceLab are pioneering such efforts by specializing in relevant areas of design such as medical cart development and process optimization.
Solving the Annoying Waiting Room Problem
Nobody likes having to wait in an unbearably boring waiting room for hours on end. Yet, even with scheduled appointments, many patients wind up having to deal with delays. Appointment scheduling apps could make it much easier for healthcare providers to notify patients when there have been changes to the schedule or when an extended wait is expected. The convenience of letting the patient making scheduling choices and changes within an app also reduces the chances of poorly scheduled appointments.
Maintaining Mutually Convenient Care and Addressing Staff Shortages
We can all admit that the current healthcare system has a number of flaws ranging from minor annoyances to serious issues that need addressing. It’s not uncommon for someone to go to an “emergency” room and have to wait for hours on end while the staff seems to operate with no urgency. It is no secret that many hospitals and clinics are understaffed and that affects their ability to adequately meet the needs of every patient. Ultimately, medical apps stand to improve the healthcare process for everyone involved by allowing patients and physicians the convenience of mobile correspondence.
Envisioning a More Streamlined Medical System
Medical apps provide the potential promise of a future where patients and physicians would be able to cut out the unnecessary steps in the process and communicate more directly and personally via advanced app interfaces. With the advent of augmented/virtual reality devices, it will be interesting to see how far this concept can take us.
