Breastcancer.org has released a free mobile app to help patients research and understand their breast cancer pathology reports. The tool is meant to help educate breast cancer patients so that, along with their doctors, they can determine the right course of treatment.
The app allows patients to enter their diagnosis information, with the goal of providing patients with a mobile version of their pathology report so that when they visit other doctors they will have accurate information.
Sponsor
Based on the information patients enter (none of which, the organization says, it will disclose or sell), the app then provides relevant research news. These articles, pushed to the user’s phone, are provided by Breastcancer.org’s Research News program.
The app also includes illustrations and definitions of common pathology report terms.
Healthcare Goes Mobile
A decade ago, Susannah Fox, who directs the healthcare work at the Pew Internet and American Life Project, wrote about a “revolution” in online healthcare. “Ten years later, I am ready to declare the access revolution over, at least in the United States. It’s time to change our frame of reference,” Fox said at a talk at the Mayo Clinic earlier this month.
Fox argues that the new realm to focus on will be mobile technologies, something she sees as “portable, personalized, and participatory.” She contends that mobile technologies will impact how we think about healthcare – how we gather and share medical information.
The iPhone app released by Breastcancer.org is certainly a step in that direction, helping patients have access to records and research, which hopefully in turn will help provide better care and support.
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