TORONTO – In between playing Angry Birds, making grocery lists or paying bills, Canadians are tracking their health, such as weight, exercise, or blood sugar levels, with smartphone apps.
Mobile health is quickly gaining in popularity as Canadians download and use apps to track their daily routines. A Global Data study estimates that there are already more than 40,000 health-related apps floating around.
Toronto doctor Christopher Culligan launched two more to add to the market this week.
The family physician and emergency room doctor at Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals said he was inspired to create the apps after he noticed the “up and coming trend” in his work.
“It’s the platform of choice for most people in the world now,” Culligan said.
“So when I looked at it from a medical point of view, patients come into the office and they’re on their phone, and when I walk into the room, they’re on their phone or they may even look something up when we’re talking,” he told Global News.
While Culligan offers only anecdotal evidence of a reliance on health apps, a Pew Research Center study released this week notes that one in seven adults are tracking a certain health indicator for themselves or a loved one.
The tracking ranges from weight, diet, exercise, sleep patterns, to headaches.
Meanwhile, the research shows that at least one in five people are turning to technology to track their health data.
Culligan said that some tech-savvy users may be skeptical of apps promoting health in app stores.
He built, along with a team of developers, apps meant to screen patients and help them take action on alcohol abuse and depression.
The apps – The Alcohol Abuse Predictor and the Depression Predictor – are based on research-based questionnaires to help patients determine if they’re at risk from these commonly experienced disorders and provide information.
“I’m not trying to replace the physician, the nurse practitioner or the psychologist,” Culligan noted.
He said that the apps are meant to help users answer any questions they may have about where they stand on mental health or alcohol consumption.
“You try to present the information, asking questions in an easy format and from that information, you see where they fit and advise on future solutions on where they can go if they need help,” he said.
They’re also meant to be user-friendly and fun. In the alcohol app, for example, users answer questions to see how they stack up against the average drinker in Canada and the rest of the world.
“What I’m hoping is they realize that they don’t seem to be in a problem area or they notice that they drink more than the average, something’s wrong and they should go see a doctor,” he said.
Right now, they’re available for Android smartphones.
Read more about them here.
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