Health & Wellness

 
According to the FDA, a mobile medical application “can help people manage their own health and wellness, promote healthy living, and gain access to useful information when and where they need it.” While visiting and talking to your doctor is very important, MMAs can be a great addition to your medical portfolio. With new drugs and therapies being created at a growing pace, these apps are a great tool to help you navigate the often unintelligible medical world.
 
Taking charge of your health is crucial for everyone, but it is particularly useful for MS patients. You often want and need more information than your doctor provides. MMAs can be a very useful tool to help you or your caregivers with this overwhelming task. There are so many MMAs now that it would be impossible in the scope of this article to review more than a few. Take the time to search and find MMAs that meet your needs.
 
The easiest way to find a comprehensive list of the latest medical/health apps from iTunes is itunes.apple.com/us/genre. Click on App Store and choose Medical or Health and Fitness. While this list is long and not very easy to use, it will nonetheless help you find apps that will fit your needs specifically.
 
For Google Play, on android devices go to play.google.com/store/apps. Click on categories and choose Medical or Health and Fitness. There are pictures of the app as well as user ratings. This list is easy to use and very helpful.
 
Many health providers, insurance and drug companies also offer MMAs. Check their website to see if they provide an app for tracking your medication, health, and/or your health benefits.
 
Below are reviews of several of the well-rated free apps that are for both Android and Apple. These examples will give you a sample of how MMAs can be a valuable asset when dealing with MS. There are also low-cost apps that are good resources. This article only reviews apps that are free.
 
CareZone

CareZone is a great way for you or your caregiver to keep all your important medical information in one place. Signing up is free. The medication feature of CareZone is comprehensive and helps with reordering as well. In addition to the usual medication and journaling feature, there is a social media component that allows sharing with people in your contacts. Other helpful features include a calendar, notes and a to-do list. This app does not give information on drugs or therapies and is solely for keeping current important medical information in one place. Your CareZone information can be accessed through an app or on the web at carezone.com/home.
 
Drugs.com

It takes a little time to set up your information in this app, but it makes the app more useful. Once you have created a free account, it is simple to use and has many very helpful features. These include an interaction checker to find medications that can interfere with each other. The Support Group (Android), or Questions & Answers (Apple) feature is one of the more interesting sections. It gives you a chance to see what issues others have and how they have dealt with those problems. A word of caution: these are not researched medical opinions. Rather, they are just other patients’ opinions and not necessarily MS patients. This app is robust. Take time to explore the many great features.
 
MyMedSchedule

Taking your medication in a timely manner can be difficult. This app will help. Once you register and add your medications, this app makes it easy to keep track of your medication schedule. This would be especially useful for caregivers. Each medication on your schedule includes a picture so it easy to identify. This is very helpful as it is very easy to mix them up. You can send text and/or email reminders of the time you are scheduled to take each medication. Of course, you need to have your device nearby and your notifications on with sound for it to be useful. This feature is easily found on all mobile devices.

The idea of managing your health by using a mobile device and/or a computer is a growing field. Most doctors and healthcare providers already use and share electronic information. While this technology is not perfect, it is improving all the time. The sooner you get on board, the easier it will be when it becomes the primary way to stay in control of your health care. To read more information about this topic visit www.fda.gov and search for “mobile medical apps.”

 Joanne Fortunato, BS, MA is a retired computer technology teacher in Troy, N.Y. She has a master’s degree in education and has been teaching technology to teachers and students for 30 years. She has published several articles and books on educational computer technology, including several articles with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). She was diagnosed with MS in 2006 and uses technology to aid in coping with the many difficulties that MS can present. She is excited to share this information with others that deal with the same and many other issues on a daily basis.