How Apps Can Help People Manage Chronic Illnesses

Conditions such as Hashimoto’s disease often require ongoing treatment and lifestyle modifications. But apps can empower patients to improve their health. THE HARDEST PART about having a chronic illness is its key characteristic: it’s lifelong. By definition, these illnesses are incurable. Daily, patients attempt to sleuth the cause of flares, determine what might bring relief, and hurdle obstacles to wellness, such as puzzling and debilitating symptoms, a lack of credible information, confusing medical regimens, and difficulty securing doctor appointments.

And while patients often feel isolated, they’re not alone. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that six in 10 adults in the United States suffer from a chronic illness, while four in 10 have two or more. These illnesses account for $3.8 trillion in annual health care costs, yet the health care system isn’t equipped to meet patients’ needs.

Here’s the good news: Mobile apps are bridging a broad care gap, providing evidence-based information and tools for logging disease-related data to trace trends and patterns that can inform management strategies.