No Time for a Doctor? There's an App for That.
One of my first blogs (now colloquially referred to as the ‘thumb blog of 2008’) delved into the subject of cyberchondria, which was defined in the Globe and Mail as 'hypochondria on metaphorical steroids, its effects amplified by the staggering number of disastrous outcomes the Web can provide’. Well if ever there was a black hole from which the cyberchondriac could never hope to escape, it would be found in the Apps catalogue on your iPhone and would go by the collective name “Medical Apps”.
I’m no dummy. I can see the value in Heartwise Blood Pressure Tracker; you type in your blood pressure and heart rate and can then monitor trends over time. Handy app if I have a blood pressure problem. I get that.
Speaking of blood pressure, though, I’ll venture a guess that the Infections App would really do a number on a hypochondriac; everything you could ever want to know about anthrax, dengue fever, monkeypox and more, all at your fingertips.
And the temptation to self-diagnose must be irresistible if you’ve downloaded X-Rays, a nifty little App (free, no less), for identifying any sort of abnormality as a result of disease, injury, or simply poor genetic misfortune.
What I do find most unnerving are the Apps that are obviously targeting physicians. Instant ECG: An Electrocardiogram Rhythms Interpretation Guide is one example. Not sure how confidence-inspired I would be to watch my cardiologist whip out his iPhone to make sure I wasn’t in atrial fibrillation. Ditto for “ICU Pearls”, which the developer describes as ‘pearls of wisdom’ for the ICU doctor. Call me ungrateful, but if I’m in the ICU, I’m probably not there for a life lesson.
I scored an iTouch for Mother’s Day this year. I’m already getting wicked finger cramps exploring the full scope of what it can do. But don’t worry about me, there’s an App for that.
Jennifer Hartman, guest blogger
