The emergence of mobile apps and devices that enable us to track our activities, calories and vital signs (and even share this data with others) can be used to modify our behavior for improved outcomes. This so-called “Quantified Self” movement is not a new concept by any means, but the technology to do so has become accessible on a much larger scale–as we saw with the FitBit vs. Jawbone UP review.
With the innovations in mobile technology and the growth of smartphone and tablet users, the ability to track these inputs is available to anyone who owns one of these devices. As it applies to improving health, the goal of Quantified Self will be allowing your physician to run a diagnostic check on all variables of your physical health at a particular moment, similar to how auto mechanics run a diagnostic of your car’s computer when you bring it in for regular maintenance or an unscheduled repair.
Hand Decide – Point of Care Patient Education for Healthcare Professionals by Orca Health (formerly Orca MD)
This version of HandDecide combines a new design with access to surgical videos and enables you to Draw / Annotate images and Send / Prescribe Digital Handouts (app content) to your patients.
Generate your own ‘Prescribable’ Digital Handouts, using photo or video capture. All Digital Handouts you Send to your patients will be hosted on HIPAA-secure servers by Orca.
This will allow you to take pictures and videos of your patient or patient’s medical imagery (MRIs, x-rays, etc.), Draw on those images and add them to the Digital Handouts you Send to your patients. This feature will help you deliver them personalized patient education, which will, in turn, improve their satisfaction and retention–all while enhancing their understanding of their condition and treatment.
HandDecide is a multisensory learning tool, which empowers healthcare specialists to teach their patients more quickly, efficiently and effectively. The app includes interactive 3D animations that permit you to explore and explain anatomy like never before.
Studies show that 3D animations are more effective than text, physical models and 2D illustrations, in communicating health information.
Lastly, augmented reality provides a unique way to enhance comprehension in-context, by enhancing the patient’s worldview with relevant visual and auditory information.
Satisfaction levels among people who are well-informed about their health are much higher than those who don’t understand their condition or treatment. Patients who interact with information via multiple sensory inputs feel more satisfied with the course of action they choose and the care they receive.
HandDecide is free to download and free for personal use. HandDecide’s in-app subscription adds the Draw / Annotation and Send / Prescribe features to the free-for-personal-use Anatomy, Condition and Procedure content and is available through an auto-renewing subscriptions.
Self-tracking our own health data can encourage preventive rather than reactionary medical visits, enabling routine maintenance of our bodies to prevent a major health crisis from occurring.
A recent report by Wired suggests that tracking data also helps to modify behavior by providing an instant visualization of personal output, encouraging us to improve outcomes.
“The basic premise is simple. Provide people with information about their actions in real time (or something close to it), then give them an opportunity to change those actions, pushing them toward better behaviors.”
The data collected provides information, and if we can connect the information from separate data points together, it becomes knowledge. Self-tracking brings that knowledge to the individual. There are constantly new reports with data about health risks endangering the human population, what causes certain diseases, and how humans can improve their chances of staying healthy. Yet, the risk of it affecting us individually seems minimal if it isn’t personalized. When the data behind these prescribed risks comes from our own self-tracking, the impetus to change our behavior is much more compelling.
https://orcahealth.com/