“If you think about the brain as a muscle, then certain activities, like learning maps of London’s streets, are like bodybuilding,” he (Hugo Spiers) says, “and all we can really say from our new findings is that you’re not working out these particular bits of the brain when you’re relying on SatNav.”
mHealth Insights
I’ve been using and researching the use of mHealth medication reminder apps for over a decade (long before the Apple AppStore was launched when most Patients/Carers just used the native calendar/alarm apps and Nokia execs were surprised to find that their obscure Wellness App was proving a hit with Patients and getting >100,000 downloads/month) and think we’ll probably find something similar (but more desirable) is happening.
I see no reason to wait for any more evidence to be published before we make it a compulsory requirement for medications to be complemented by mHealth apps but perhaps the reason we are seeing benefits is because it’s simply less taxing on your brain when our mobiles provide discrete reminders/nudges and this makes it less stressful for us to follow medication regimes?
Related Posts:
How long before Mobiles make Med Reminders smart? (April 2013)
Why aren’t all Healthcare providers using SMS appointment reminders? (Feb 2011)