Health care is changing, and technological advances are the reason why. Apps, wearables, telemedicine, EHRs, and home health care software are making it easier than ever to take control of your own health and that of your family. In the near future, doctors could begin prescribing apps instead of medications, and plenty of tools are already available to help people of all ages improve and maintain their health.
That’s good news if you’re the kind of parent who wants to play a hands-on role in managing your children’s health, and even better news if you have a child with special medical needs. Apps and wearables make monitoring medical conditions, activity level, medications, and diet easier than ever. Telemedicine can take the headache out of getting medical advice for a sick child. EHRs and home care software make it easier for a care team to coordinate and can help you stay in the loop regarding your child’s care.
Stay on Top of Your Child’s Health With Apps and Wearables
Wearable devices, like the FitBit, have already gained popularity among adults who want to get more active and eat better. If you’re concerned about your child’s activity level, there are kid-friendly fitness trackers, too.
Kid-friendly activity trackers and pedometers are heavy-duty to stand up to the rough-and-tumble lifestyle of an active child. They’re easy to use, water-resistant, affordable, and fun. Most pedometers and fitness trackers for kids seek to make fitness into a fun game kids will want to play for years. Many allow kids to set goals and measure progress, and some are designed to be used by the whole family or at least one other person, so kids can bring some friendly competition into the mix.
Your child may not be old enough to use fitness apps him or herself, but as a parent, you can use health and fitness apps to take blood pressure or other important readings, track a child’s weight-loss progress, or look up a child’s symptoms. Some apps may be used in conjunction with home health care software to help coordinate the care of a child with special needs.
Get a House Call With Telemedicine
The days when a doctor would come to your house to administer care to a sick child might be over, but telemedicine is giving parents another option for treating sick children. Telemedicine allows you to consult with a doctor via Skype or Facetime. Many insurance providers now encourage patients to take advantage of telemedicine services, because these services can save everyone a lot of time and money. They’re a great way to get advice and treatment for routine medical conditions without the hassle and expense of bundling up your sick little one and making a midnight trip to urgent care. It’s especially useful if you live in a remote location, since it can increase your access to medical care.
Of course, telemedicine is no substitute for a face-to-face visit, and your virtual visit may result in the doctor telling you to seek further care from a nearby urgent care clinic or emergency department. However, telemedicine can yield prescriptions for minor ailments and can be a good avenue for follow-up care.
EHRs and Home Health Care Software Help Coordinate Your Child’s Care
Electronic health records, or EHRs, ensure that every member of your child’s health care team is on the same page. As a parent, you have the right to access your child’s EHRs, so you, too, can stay abreast of test results, health history information, and other crucial data, such as medications your child is currently taking or has taken in the past.
Thanks to EHRs, you won’t have to worry about a doctor not getting crucial information from test results; if your child has a pre-existing condition, your care team will know; if your child has an allergy or has taken a medication in the past that didn’t work out, you’ll be better equipped to advocate for his or her needs. Perhaps the biggest benefit of EHRs is that, soon, they should be available to hospitals and physicians across the country, meaning that if your child gets sick or injured on a family vacation in another state and has to see an unfamiliar provider, that provider will have access to his or her information.
Home health care software is also a valuable way to coordinate care, especially if you have a special needs child who needs help from a team of caregivers. Home health care software makes it easy to keep track of who administered what care, and schedule care so that your child gets all the help he or she needs.
Technology is making every aspect of our lives easier, including health care. Parents today are better equipped than ever before to take charge of their children’s health — and that means healthier families all around.
This is a guest post.