It’s 5:30 p.m. and you sliced your finger trying to get dinner ready. You need stitches, but don’t want to sit for hours in a waiting room. You need to refill a prescription, but just don’t have time during a chaotic schedule to make a phone call. Your doctor appointment is in 10 minutes, where should you park? The test results are in. You just got a reminder that you are due for a mammogram.
We have all found ourselves in similar situations. “We recognize patients are juggling many life obligations, including their health care needs. We want to meet UC San Diego Health patients where they are and provide the most convenient access to physicians and resources with the simple touch of a phone screen,” said
Thomas Savides, MD, Chief Experience Officer at UC San Diego Health.
With the new MyUCSDHealth mobile application, patients have the ability to manage their health information at their fingertips.
“Whether you want to look up a care provider, schedule an appointment, check test results, refill a prescription or locate a clinic address, the MyUCSDHealth app is a one-stop shop for patients, family members and caregivers for all touch points of our health system,” said
Christopher Longhurst, MD, Chief Information Officer and Associate Chief Medical Officer at UC San Diego Health.
According to Pew Research Center, 95 percent of Americans own a cell phone and 62 percent have used smart phones to research a health-related topic. A recent study estimated 50 percent of mobile device users have downloaded at least one mobile health app — a number that is expected to grow rapidly with advances in technology and phone capabilities.
Users who download MyUCSDHealth can find urgent or express care locations with walk-in access and the “Save My Spot” feature, which allows patients to remotely hold their spot in advance for same-day, walk-in visits. “When patients arrive for their appointment, their space in line is saved and they are typically seen within minutes,” said Savides.
Also, UC San Diego Health patients with a
MyUCSDChart account can use the MyUCSDHealth app to communicate securely with their care team, view test results (including all radiology results), manage prescriptions, view and pay bills and schedule different appointments and screenings, including annual mammograms.
The app also provides users with the ability to search a physician database and read bios of doctors, primary care to specialty care. Depending on a patient’s age or that of a spouse or child, a patient may want an internist, a pediatrician or a geriatrician. Some patients want a family medicine doctor to care for everyone, infants to grandparents, and others may be looking for national experts in cancer or cardiovascular services. The MyUCSDHealth app can also help patients identify a physician by location and specialty.
Loved ones sitting at the bedside can even use the app for information, like dining hours, “which can make the experience a little less stressful when faced with the emotions of a health issue,” said Savides. “MyUCSDHealth is for the patient and everyone in his or her circle of support.”
“The launch of this app is part of UC San Diego Health’s overall strategy to understand the needs of patients for an optimal experience and then align people, processes and technology to successfully make it happen,” said Kim Kennedy, Chief Marketing And Communications Officer at UC San Diego Health.
To download the app for your device, search “MyUCSDHealth” in the Apple or Google Play app stores.
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