Results

It seems with every passing day more and more of our daily tasks and interactions can be done online. The latest industry to take to the web is, surprisingly, health care. While information-focused websites like WebMD continue to grow in popularity, new sites and services are popping up which provide virtual doctor’s visits, medical advice, and community support groups.

One such company is Myca, which provides cell phone applications and video conferencing access to physicians. Based in Quebec City, Canada, Myca’s services include foodphone, doctorphone, and babyphone. These services allow subscribers in the U.S. and Canada to conference with a network of doctors and nurses, send in snapshots of their meals for nutritional analysis, and get general advice for childcare. Myca will even archive your conversations to add to your medical records. The idea is a unique one, but it addresses the growing problem of quick access to medical care in both Canada and its neighbor to the south. One can imagine the popularity of such services in rural areas where a qualified physicians are in short supply.

As their website says, “The unique video capabilities of the Myca platform reinforce the importance of the direct and personal relationship in generating positive outcomes for treatments and wellness regimens, in a society that is increasingly mobile and on-demand.” Myca is not the only company to examine the viability of cell phone medical capabilities. Motorola is developing a handset that can transmit your “vitals” to your doctor, and HealthPia America has a phone for diabetes patients that can keep track of their blood-sugar levels.

Another emerging business utilizes web tools to create an online community of patients who all suffer from the same conditions. PatientsLikeMe was founded by brothers Ben and James Heywood as a means of gathering information and organizing support for their brother Stephen, who had developed ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Their resulting website provides “a new system of medicine by patients for patients. We’re here to give patients the power to control their disease and to share what they learn with others.” PatientsLikeMe currently houses information and communities of those afflicted by ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Users are able to share and manage their symptoms, connect with other sufferers, and find up-to-the-minute information about new treatment options and experimental research projects. Perhaps a surprising side effect is that researchers in the medical field can access valuable, engaged patient information to help with further research to combat these diseases.

My first question that came to mind when I heard about these two companies was, “Is it safe?” Can a physician really be expected to diagnose a problem or prescribe medication over a video conference call? Does commiseration help you or hurt you when suffering from a degenerative disease? Can we actually get reliable health information on the internet? The technology and trends are too new to answer all these questions, but the success of health care websites like WebMD only proves that the internet-using public has embraced this open access to medical information. Like WebMD, both Myca and PatientsLikeMe employ qualified doctors and nurses to deal with patients questions and concerns. The bottom line is that the public has come to expect instant gratification due to our online, text-messaging culture, and we are no longer willing to wait for access to health care providers.

Friday, October 19th, 2007 Both comments and pings are currently closed.

By Haley January Eckels