2012 was an exciting year for healthcare with the fierce growth in mobile health technologies and the preservation of the Affordable Care Act.

I have highlighted below some of my favorite companies I’ve posted about this year, and if you haven’t checked these products out, you certainly should. Perhaps one or more will help jump start a New Year’s Resolution.

A big thank you to my followers for an amazing year and here’s to health and happiness in 2013!

– Alexis

 

Best Body Monitor and Activity Tracker:

Fitbit – Self-tracking device

Lumoback – Posture sensor and app

Misfit Shine – Self-tracking device. Not on the market yet, but the size and sleek design makes it one of my favorite

Best Self Tracking and Reminder App:

SkinVision  – Mobile app that tracks changes over time for various skin conditions

PillBoxie – Simple and effective medication management app

Cardiio  – iPhone heart rate sensor

Best Medical Answer:

Healthtap – Health questions answered by doctors and doctor locator

iTriage – Self-triage and doctor finder

iCouch – Tele-therapy website

Best Exercise Motivator:

GymPact – Monetary workout incentivizing app

StickK – Monetary goal incentivizing website

Skinnyo  – Health challenge creator, using social media to incentivize

Best Insurance and Payment Management:

Cakehealth – Streamline health insurance billing and payments onto one platform

Simplee – Compile healthcare records and bills into one easy to understand online dashboard

GoHealth – Quotes for purchasing individual health insurance

Best Up and Coming:

Proteus – Ingestible sensors, embedded in medications to capture information regarding the foods you eat and how your body reacts to them

GeckoCap – Inhaler usage tracker for kids with asthma

Vitality Glowcaps  – Prescription reminder pill cap tops that transmit data about your medication adherence

SkinVision: Track Changes in Your Skin

SkinVision is a mobile app that tracks changes over time for various skin conditions, such as benign moles that may become atypical and thus have a higher chance of developing melanoma. Since the majority of melanoma is affected by UV radiation, the app also shows the UV Index for your location.

The app has a mathematical algorithm developed by a team of dermatologists, mathematicians and computer scientists. The algorithm analyzes the picture of your mole and lets you know how you should proceed – stay alert, monitor changes, or notify a doctor in the area. The app can then pull doctors near your location and can also remind you when to take another snapshot of your mole – say in 3 or 6 months.

While certainly not a substitute for a doctor when you have a concern, the app does a great job of keeping track of potential issues long term. It serves as a preventative measure, and one we should all take.

DermLink: Answers About Your Skin in 24 Hours

Telemedicine is another field leveraging smart phones to bring doctors faster to your aid. DermLink is an online platform where you can upload images of suspicious skin conditions and within 24 hours hear back from a local dermatologist. Although restricted to the website for now, an iPhone and Android app is in the works.

What’s neat is that the DermLink software automatically checks for picture quality and rejects unusable and blurry photos. Also, it only takes about 5 minutes to submit your case. What’s not so neat is getting charged $99 upfront for my self referral. While the process of getting a referral from my next general check up and then seeing a dermatologist may take up to six months and $40 in copays, since I have no immediate concerns, I think I’ll just wait it out.

Still, if something important comes up and I can’t wait to go through my primary doctor, I’ll be using DermLink immediately.