How frustrating is it when you go to the doctor’s office with a problem and have another related question that you needed to ask? You have to call the office again, make another appointment, or simply wait many hours for walk-in clinics or emergency departments. This process can be very tedious and inconvenient, especially for the young generation that grew up with readily available information as well as older patients who have difficulties travelling.
Technology seems to have finally broken the ice and is bringing healthcare to patients right in the comfort of their homes. Take Sandra, a cancer patient, who had a surgery in Toronto. Four weeks after her operation, Sandra noticed bruising near the surgery site and was understandably worried. She needed professional information and contacted her surgeon without hesitation. However, her surgeon was in Nepal on a research trip. How did Sandra get in touch with her physician from her distant corner of the world? It turns out that there’s an app for that. Sandra used her smartphone to send pictures of the bruising and notes of her symptoms, while her physician decided that there was no need to worry upon viewing the photos on his wireless tablet.
The smartphone application that Dr. John Semple, surgeon-in-chief at a University of Toronto-affiliated hospital, has developed and used with his surgery patients like Sandra is among other smartphone applications that are available. SpeakWithDoc Inc. developed and released a free service with a shared-perspective application. Physicians can download the app to create their professional profile and patient database. Patients can connect to their general practitioner if both have the app or they can simply look up physicians available in their community. Integrated with maps and location features, the app allows users to find a healthcare hub, office, or pharmacy, with the relative ease of finding your nearest coffee shop. SpeakWithDoc is available on both iPhone and Android platforms, so there’s no excuse now to not know the closest health office near you!
The Drummond Report flags that one per cent of Ontario’s population is responsible for 34 per cent of the province’s healthcare spending, while 34 per cent of Ontarians account for 79 per cent of the healthcare spending, referring to the “frequent fliers” of the emergency departments. Decreasing this unnecessary spending and making the healthcare system more accessible and easy to use at the same time means that each one of us must engage in making better use of modern technological advances in healthcare. Perhaps one day not too far into the future, doctors may be able to print pharmaceuticals at home or a local community printer.
