Many mobile health apps which offer guidance to the citizens to remain in healthy condition have flooded the Singapore market. Besides offering everyday wellness advice on diet, lifestyle, weight and sleep patterns, some health apps are venturing into medical care.
There are now more than 165,000 health and medical apps available in the Singapore market, according to healthcare research firm IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. In addition to this, one in five smartphone users have one or more health-related apps on their mobile devices giving testimony to the popularity of such apps.
Dr Winston Ho, medical director of Parkway Shenton, said, “There are mobile apps that are entering into medical care. They measure and monitor the user’s disease symptoms and treatment, and some even allow users to access their doctors remotely.”
About one in 10 apps allows users to connect to a device, such as a heart rate monitor, which can provide feedback to health professionals, according to a 2015 study by IMS.
There are various sophisticated health apps which helps the patients in monitoring their conditions. Breatherite, for example, is an app that uses augmented-reality technology to address errors in asthma inhaler use.
Studies show that incorrect inhaler technique is linked to poor asthma control and can exacerbate symptoms. However, with this application patients are guided about the proper way of using inhaler.
This sophisticated health app, developed by Mundipharma, engages the smartphone’s front-facing camera and sensors to track the user’s head alignment, inhaler preparation, inhalation and exhalation.
There is another app Zero Bleeds, which helps people with the bleeding disorder haemophilia manage their condition.
nBuddy (Nutritionist Buddy) is a nutrition app that help Singaporeans who are overweight or obese to manage their meals, calorie intake and activity levels. It has been developed by a National University Hospital (NUH) dietician. There is another nutrition app for people suffering with prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes called nBuddy Diabetes.
Besides, the proliferation of many mobile health apps, many digital companies have also grown in Singapore. Holmusk is a digital health company in Singapore focused on solving complex problems in healthcare. It builds innovative, scalable and cost-effective digital behaviour change programs that combine cutting-edge clinical research, technology and design to nudge people toward sustainable changes for better health. It develops powerful predictive algorithms that offer actionable insights for personalised care and population health management.
Also read: Holmusk partners with NHCS to improve care for heart failure, coronary artery disease