App Alerts for Doctors

With the help of Apps that utilize GPS and accelerometers, which can track location and movement, doctors are able to monitor their patients. “If their habits and patterns deviate in a way that suggests they’ve become withdrawn, the app alerts a doctor or other caregiver to check in.”  It can also pick up on behavior changes that suggest that a patient has stopped taking medication or is in need of a dosage change.

This type of human early warning system could transform medical care.  Critics argue, however, that such apps constitute invasion of privacy and could be misused if not monitored carefully.


Reference: Richtel, Matt, Apps Alert the Doctor When Trouble Looms, The New York Times, October 8, 2012

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