Your smartphone’s not an MD just yet. But you might say it’s ready to be your home-health nurse. Thanks to a new breed of apps, smartphones are beginning to help real-life doctors, clinicians and other care-givers – even patients themselves – better manage chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and even depression.
For the 133 million Americans with chronic conditions, these apps keep a constant eye, watching for changes that could signal trouble’s brewing. That could help doctors and patients tackle problems in the moment, while they’re small — hopefully reducing the need for urgent care or hospitalization later. So the patients are healthier. And their wallets are too.
