The Patient Whiz app: A new model for patient engagement

Health Informatics & Technology Conference

October 20-22, 2014 Double Tree by Hilton Baltimore - BWI Airport, USA

Maria Hester

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Health Med Informat

Abstract :

A truly empowered patient has tremendous potential to optimize his own care and decrease medical expenditures. Not only can patients have immediate access to vital health records, they can be taught invaluable "patient skills" much like physicians are taught doctors? skills in medical school.The Patient Whiz app equips patients to communicate with healthcare providers on an unprecedented level by teaching them to think through and record important components of their illness before they even set foot in their doctor's office.Symptom-specific and general questionnaires can help expedite medical visits and minimize the need for redundant, expensive, and potentially painful testing. The Patient Whiz app also serves as an encrypted personal health record with 57 charts ranging from family, social and medical history to exercise and blood sugar logs. All charts can be filled out and saved on the app, edited, emailed, and even printed.A voice recording functionallows patients to capture physician'sinstructions or record their own memos after an appointment. Voice memos can be emailed to caregivers. An audible alert sounds an hour prior to doctors' appointments to minimize the chance of missed visits.The scan function allows users to scan in EKGs, radiology reports, and other medical documents at the point of service. Scanned documents can also be emailed or printed.The results of a pilot study addressing the utility of the Patient Whiz empowerment model from the viewpoints of both patients and physicians will be presented conference.

Biography :

Maria Hester, MD is a board certified internal medicine specialist with over 20 years of direct patient care experience. Her passion is empowering people to take control of their health care and become a effective advocate for their own health. She started writing health empowerment literature while in medical school and has been writing ever since. She subsequently created the Patient Whiz, an innovative health app. The Patient Whiz teaches people how to partner in their health care on an unprecedented level by teaching vital ?patient skills? which help them expedite their own medical diagnoses, effectively communicate with their physicians, minimize redundant, unnecessary testing, and lower their medical bills, while enabling them to keep an extensive copy of encrypted health records in their cell phones. The Patient Whiz is also available on a credit card-size USB flash drive. In September of 2014, her company, Savvier Health, LLC released Total en Salud, a much needed health app for Spanish speakers, replete with easy-to-understand, practical health information on medical conditions that significantly impact Latino communities. It also provides links to numerous web sites with vital health information and guidelines written in Spanish.