Technology in the healthcare industry has been of great benefit for patients, doctors and organisations alike. Digital health apps have certainly presented new innovative methods, replacing the mundane approach in healthcare management. Hence, the adaptation of such tools has paved the way for encouraging patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.

Recently, an increase in telemedicine apps has made remote healthcare services available to all users, eliminating the need to go to the doctor’s office. These apps have been cleverly crafted to be highly reliable and easy to use. It should come to no shock how popular they have become over the years and how more people are taking an interest in them.  Working mothers have been active users of these apps as the accessibility goes hand in hand with their busy schedules.

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunications technology by medical professionals to diagnose and treat patients remotely. It is said to be ideal for patients as:

♦ The level of privacy still exists.

♦ No extra expenses, like travelling, are incurred.

♦ No long hours in the doctor’s office needed. This way, the patient doesn’t lose extra time.

♦ There is no exposure to contagious patients as everything is done at a distance.

With such worthwhile advantages, working mothers are grabbing every chance given to use telemedicine apps. Telecommunication companies have taken notice of this as well. Well-known telemedicine apps like MDLive and Doctor on Demand, recognise the advantage of having women as their key demographic or target market. Teladoc, a telemedicine company that uses a mixture of telephone and videoconference technology, targets social media to help acquire users, resulting in about 45% representing active female users.

It may seem even natural to think that these companies would readily target working mothers as many of them work as “medical professionals” in their own home. A 2017 study by Kaiser Family Foundation, which examined women, work and family health, concluded that about 79% of household decisions, when it relates to choosing children doctors, are determined by women, with up to 77% of them accompanying their children to their doctor appointments. The findings are not meant to discriminate working fathers or other family members but to heighten the correlation between the increase of women telemedicine users, 60% in fact, with the active role that they tend to play in their private homes.

With such a wide range of qualified, and yet free telemedicine apps just a swipe away, all demographers can easily benefit from the convenience that these technological applications readily pose.

References:

1. Why Healthcare Needs Digital Health Apps, Liquid State
2. Telemedicine apps are thriving because working moms love the convenience of their smartphones, June 2019, CNBC
3. What is Telemedicine, ChironHealth
4. The Best Telemedicine Apps of 2019, Healthline