Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Will Soon Have New Healthcare Apps

Patients at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center will soon have some new tools to better manage their healthcare.

More and more healthcare providers are developing mobile apps to improve patient care and reduce costs.  According to a project by the Pew Research Center, one in three cell phone owners have used their phone to look for health information.

Last week, Wake Forest Innovations, the commercialization arm of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, announced it will collaborate with Charlotte-based Novarus Healthcare to develop mobile apps and other web-based tools.

“The processes will save the patient time and waiting in the ER department.”

Michael Batalia, Executive Director of Commercialization at Wake Forest Innovations, explains how one of the devices will work.

“If you show up at the emergency room department and you have a complicated break, we have paper tools that we are converting to mobile apps that will allow the physician to quickly access the level of break and the damage. The technology will help provide a rapid assessment that can then be pushed to the orthopedic specialist.” Says Batalia.

The tools will provide easy ways for patients to manage health goals and research treatment options. Batalia says other apps will be developed to let patients' access their own healthcare records and schedule appointments.

According to a recent Mashable article, there are up to 200,000 apps in the Apple app store that currently provide health resources.  

Batalia says the apps designed through the partnership between Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and Novarus Healthcare can be used for multiple devices. The first set of apps will be available in early October.