Interactive platform harnesses social media to capture health care experiences.
HospitalPix, a mobile application incorporating a comprehensive database of hospital locations and photo-sharing features for informative profiles of medical facilities, is now available for download in the United States.
The app, which runs on Android devices, uses geolocation to generate a list of nearby facilities from an index of the more than 4,000 hospitals in the U.S. Important information including maps, directions and contact information is presented clearly upon selecting a facility.
Additionally, users can upload photos of their hospital experiences to each hospital’s profile, along with comments and reviews. Other users can view and comment on these images and descriptions, producing honest and vivid accounts of each facility’s culture and care.
“People all over the world get a great deal of fulfillment from documenting their experiences in real time with photo sharing apps,†said Dr. Jacques Durand, chief medical officer of Health2i, the app’s developer.
“Imagine how inspirational it would be to follow a chronicle of a person’s recovery from a stroke or a traumatic accident. This technology allows people to preserve and share these healthy developments.â€Â
One in every five people across the globe owns a smartphone, providing easy access to highly portable and advanced cameras. Popular apps like Instagram, Flickr and Snapchat, which boast 200 million, 92 million and 30 million users respectively, enable people to share and view photos taken on the fly with their mobile devices. However, these apps are host to a broad range of images, and pictures of medical value must compete with irrelevant content for space and attention.
HospitalPix is the first of these apps to include an extensive hospital database and location software, and Durand said the app’s dedicated focus on health care makes it more useful to patients and medical professionals interested in sharing the latest developments on topics like equipment and facilities.
“Whether you’re a health-care provider looking to promote your career offerings and services, a nurse eager to give people a glimpse into life on the job or a patient interested in capturing your social interactions during your visit, HospitalPix lets users share this information easily in a way that illustrates the hospital experience for everyone involved,†Durand said.
The app has already been used as a resource for existing patients to aid new patients in finding specific locations like prayer rooms and administrative offices, and others have used it to critique their hospital’s meal options. Furthermore, he explained that patient advocates can use the app to provide advice on specific questions.
Images posted to HospitalPix can be shared on a variety of social media platforms and enhanced using the photo-editing software found in other photography apps. The app also enables users to post photos taken with Google Glass, which is being tested in a variety of medical applications. Users can report sensitive pictures or content to protect patient privacy.
The U.S. introduction follows its premier at the Doctors 2.0 Conference (http://www.doctors20.com/) last week in Paris and its launch in Southeast Asia early last month. A version specific to Canada will be available by the end of the month, with a European version following in September.
HospitalPix is available for free from the Google Play Store:
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Durand plans to release an iOS version of the app in the future.[signoff predefined=”Enjoy this?” icon=”icon-users”][/signoff]
