An experience involving a patient and a technological application (app) first occurred in my past clinical rotation

Peer Responses:

• Peer response to Linda Le
• Week 2: Discussion Question – Clinical Experiences 

An experience involving a patient and a technological application (app) first occurred in my past clinical rotation; however, this app reappeared several times over that rotation. My previous clinical experience took place at an internal medicine clinic, which encountered only adult and geriatric patients. Often, the chronic conditions addressed within this clinic are related to, treated with weight loss, and dieting. The most frequently recommended app that my preceptor used to assist her patients to manage their hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia, or achieve weight-loss was MyFitnessPal. This app helps patients who struggle with maintaining a balanced and nutritious diet to accomplish lowering of high-saturated fat, carbohydrates, and subsequently lose weight and lowering cholesterol and blood sugar levels by highlighting the caloric and nutritional values of consumed foods and drinks (Slazus et al., 2022). The app was recommended because it is user-friendly, easily accessible with any iOS and Android devices, and free to use (MyFitnessPal, n.d.).  An overwhelming 97 percent of Americans own a mobile device and 85 percent of those are smartphones (Ufholz & Werner, 2023).  

Another study has found that mobile apps like MyFitnessPal, compared to past traditional methods of paper and writing, have shown to be more effective at managing weight-loss (Ufholz & Werner, 2023). These technological apps can generate real-time feedback as soon as patients input the data into them, which can alter the course of actions and behaviors of eating, selection of meals, and decision to forgo dessert or exercise more, etc. (Ufholz & Werner, 2023). Many of these types of weight-loss apps allow patients to customize their goals to set realistic limitations; therefore, the patients feel more involved and empowered with the weight-loss plans (Ufholz & Werner, 2023). Patients can gradually ease into a new diet plan and advance to a more restricted diet as they become more accustomed to the changes over time. Usually, for an added charge, some apps allow users to share the input data or content with personal trainers or dietitians to expand into a collaborative team effort (Ufholz & Werner, 2023). These types of apps are effective in dietary management of chronic conditions; however, it requires patient engagement — the patient must be motivated and wants to change (Ufholz & Werner, 2023).