GPs Embrace Apps And Wearables As British Healthcare Goes Digital

Modern heath care is embracing technology more than ever before, according to a new survey that tracks how doctors and nurses are increasingly going digital.

A study by Ipsos Mori has found that nearly three quarters (72 percent) of doctors have used or recommended an app, forum, or wearable technology over the past year.

And the technology is forecast by many to be a long-lasting presence, with four in five doctors saying they thought health and lifestyle apps were here to stay, according to the ‘Digital Doctor Report 2015’.

Clean bill of health

The survey also quizzed the doctors about what technology they thought they would be using in the future, discovering that one in four thought health and lifestyle apps would form a part of treatment plans going forward.

However more than seven out of ten (73 percent) said that they don’t know exactly what they want from digital health solutions, with apps and other digital services helping to complement existing procedures rather than replacing them wholesale.

Monitoring patient well-being was reported as being the most useful function of digital health services, with conditions such as Diabetes and lifestyle tracking being noted as particularly handy use cases.

The survey also uncovered worries from health professionals surrounding patient self-diagnosis, with many doctors concerned that using mobile apps could cause patients to misinterpret data, fuelling hypochondria.

Overall, 27 percent of those questioned saying that they thought mobile apps for patients will create more conflicts between the two groups.

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