Health App of IOS

The features of a personal health record that are most useful for me are:

Aim of the App – ofcourse I could not require an app to have features that does not fall on the main goal of the application

Privacy and Security – the PHR should have security feature such as log in page and the ease of retrieving the data from the PHR should be pass through several checks before the retrieval of the information inside the PHR, like more log in features such as security questions for verification of identity.

Access of medical personel for emergency – I think that PHRs need not only be personal but also can be accessed by a health care provider for emergency or I could easily send relevant data to my doctor. Under this, my medications, screenings, immunizations, and laboratory test results are some of the data that should be exchanged between me and my doctor or a health care provider or the insurance, especially on emergency situations, when drug to drug interaction can cause adverse effect, screenings and lab results can be used as baseline and immunizations like BCG can cause adverse effect when skin tested for Tuberculosis

Another important feature is having technical support, for most technologies, having no one to attend to queries and errors causes a lot of frustration for the end user.

For the Health App, I will be grading the app using a scale

1. NO

2. LIMITED

3 YES

Aim of App – YES – with just a blurb on the site, the aim was met – Score 2

Privacy and Security – NO – the security of the app relies on the security of the handheld device – Score 1

Access of Medical Personel During Emergency – LIMITED this feature relies on which have you shared to a third party –  Score 2

Technical Support – LIMITED – IOS or any apple product has a good customer service only when you go to an Apple Store or Authorized resellers, however contacting their technical support using a 1800 number is so frustrating, and leaving a rating and a comment leaves me wondering if it’s being read or not. Score 2

The TOTAL SCORE is 7

A perfect score would be 12, but having only one YES, one NO and two LIMITED Grades, Health App as an PHR is still lacking. Handling ones health should not only empower the user on his health but it should “perfect” to protect the owner of the data in the PHR.

I used UTAUT (Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology), and using the constructs of the UTAUT framework I provided my feedback on my use of Health App.

A.    PERFORMANCE EXPECTANCY

1.     Perceived Usefulness:

The Health App helped me track my health generally, from the amount of physical activity, sleep, food intake, vital signs and the like. Through a dashboard, I could easily see the progress I made. I liked the Health App, because it is very easy to use and the dashboard gives me all the information that I need at a glance

2.     Job-fit:

When I started using the app, I became more aware of my health decisions – like what I am going to eat, should I get more activity, how much sleep I have been missing.

3.     Relative Advantage:

The advantage of using the Health App or any PHR that has the same function is awareness and having your own health at your hands.  I am more empowered on my health.

B.    EFFORT EXPECTANCY

1.     Perceived Ease of Use:

Health App is very easy to use

2.     Complexity:

To have the Health App function at its utmost advantage, it needs third party apps or technologies like Nike + or Nike Fuel or Jawbone, though there is an option to manually input how far I had run, for example, sometimes it’s just hard to estimate making it inaccurate. 

C.    SOCIAL INFLUENCE

1.     Subjective Norm, Social Factors and Image

I could say that using Health App and other application as such promotes health to other people as well, for example out of 10 people that I know – half of them are already using health apps prior my use of the IOS Health App, I could say that they influence me use technology in managing my health

D.    FACILITATING CONDITIONS

1.     Perceived Behavioral Control:

However Apple has not given any more than a blurb about the app, what I did was to Navigate it on my own, and researched on my own on how I am able to take advantage on the app.

2.     Facilitating Conditions:

Being an smart phone user, made it easier for me to use the app

3.     Compatibility:

The health App is compatible with my lifestyle, I always have my phone with me, I use it all the to the time, for communication, for reading and it helped me tremendously on doing some more work away from the computer. Having the app with me all the time, giving me alerts on the things that I need reminding, it helped me a lot managing my own health.  Apart from the little information Apple gave about the app, the new Health App, I am giving a very satisfactory rating. The use of third party apps and other technologies to use some functionalities of the app is just a matter of choice.