Diabetes patients can take charge of their own health with the help of a mobile app.

Diabetes patients will no longer have to worry about remembering what to do before their appointment. Neither will they have to be pressured over trying to recall all the advice and instructions given by the doctor during a consultation.

The MyVisit app, launched by Singapore General Hospital’s (SGH) Endocrinology Department, keeps track of all these and more, making the outpatient journey a less stressful experience. It helps the patients to not only plan their visit, but also allows them to take charge of their own health.

“Our goal is to empower patients, and give them greater knowledge and confidence in managing their own health,” said Dr Amanda Lam, Consultant, Department of Endocrinology, SGH.

A one-stop app

Piloted in July 2019, the MyVisit app is embedded within SingHealth’s HealthBuddy app. Designed specifically with diabetes patients’ needs in mind, it includes features such as a pre-appointment questionnaire, a consultation summary, and test results history. “Giving patients easy access to this information allows them to monitor their condition better.

Previously we explain what the test results and trends mean, but now patients can view them on their personal devices at their own time,” said Dr Lam.

The app has more than 3,000 active users, and the department is hoping to get more patients on board.

Diabetes is a chronic illness that has a significant degree of complexity and requires a good deal of patient involvement, said Dr Lam.

“It affects nearly every aspect of a patient’s life — the activities you do, what you eat, and what time you eat. A lot of self-management is involved, so we felt that this is the group that would benefit most in terms of being empowered,” she added.

With all the information about their care at their fingertips, patients will become more conscious of their health management.

“Even the simple act of answering the questionnaire makes them realise what aspects of care they should pay attention to, and they look out for those things as they go about their daily lives,” said Dr Lam.

Doctors also find the questionnaire handy. A quick look at the responses before the patient visits the clinic helps them zero in on issues of concern, maximising face-to-face interaction time, and making the consultation more meaningful and efficient.

The digital way

The team anticipated that not all patients would experiment with an unfamiliar app on their own. So staff known as digital ambassadors were stationed at the clinics to assist patients who were open to trying it.

“The ambassadors download the app in front of the patients and give them a visual walkthrough. When patients realise they can get more out of their consultation through the app, it becomes a bit easier to convince them,” said Dr Lam.

As the app requires patients to log in via the SingPass portal, the team even set up password reset stations on-site for patients who have forgotten their login details.

Dr Lam foresees the app can eventually be custom-built for conditions other than diabetes. But for now, the team is working on improving the app for diabetes patients.

“We are doing patient surveys to better understand the remaining unmet needs so that we can tailor add-ons in future iterations of this app,” she said.