We love mobile technology here at BeckonCall. It’s what we do, it’s all we think about. Sometimes, though, we spend so much time working on our mobile platform that we don’t come for air to give props to other people out there making cool apps. So, knowing that we’re all working to make your job as a practice administrator easier and more efficient, here are a few apps we think are worth checking out for you and your providers.

Please note that not all of these are necessarily HIPAA compliant, so be sure to check out details before you start using them.

1. Anything from Readdle: 

The folks at Readdle do nothing but put together really really useful, intuitive, attractive apps. Spark is a fantastic email client for iOS and OS X. Scanner Pro is (shockingly) an app that scans and automatically adjusts documents. It also integrates with services like Evernote* and Dropbox for instant uploads. Of course, you should be using BeckonCall for scheduling your physicians, but if you’re looking for a nice calendar for general use, Readdle’s Calendar 5 will do the job. They have several other apps for things like pdf editing and printing, but we’ve already drooled on our keyboard enough for one day.

*Evernote is explicitly NOT HIPAA compliant, but may be useful for non-patient documents and general notes.

2. Money2 for Health

What could be better than a mobile payment platform designed for healthcare? Citi built exactly that with Money2 for Health, which cuts out the need for paper statements by going all digital. That’s all well and good, but even better is the feature that pulls all of a patient’s information together so they can see what services were rendered and how much insurance covered. The platform claims that by offering this information, patients are less confused and pay more quickly.

3. eVisit

Want to increase patient flow and revenue? eVisit is a powerful, but simple-to-use telemedicine platform featuring 2-way video, e-prescribing, and a virtual waiting room.

And they, like us, have a physician founder and have made it their mission to help simplify healthcare. Anyone who’s helping to make lives easier for providers can’t be all that bad in our book.

4. IBlueButton

Speaking of patients, they need access to their own medical records. IBB compiles all of the information in a patient’s health history, organizes it in a relatively easy-to-view format, and lets them access it through a mobile app. No more trying to remember an entire list of medications, or carrying around a worn sticky note with names and doses. Additionally, previous procedures, scans and diagnoses can be accessed from the app. Importantly, IBB is a two-way system. Patients can send information to their physician, and providers can push information to a patient’s account. Many of the features of IBB are built to fulfill various regulatory requirements such as patient engagement within MACRA. Therefore, it’s not just a convenient tool, but one that should help practices stay in line with reduced effort.

5. Canopy Medical Translator

Having a multi-lingual staff is the ideal way to work with non-English-speaking patients. That’s not always an option, though, despite requirements for language services a significant number of patients don’t receive the level of language assistance they need in medical settings. Canopy is a digital tool that allows providers to “say” simple, common medical statements or questions in almost any language by selecting and then playing them on their phone. For more complex situations, Canopy lets providers connect directly with a real medical interpreter.

6. Papers and Read

It’s always good to have the latest research at your fingertips. Whether you’re looking to keep up with the literature or you’re helping your providers find a solution to do that, Papers and Read are excellent products with well-designed mobile apps. Papers is an all-in-one reference manager that has been a staple in research labs for years. It lets users search for articles across multiple sources and instantly import the reference - and, if desired, the full text. Papers also offers a solid citation tool for anyone in your practice working on a manuscript.

Read, as one might assume from the name, is more of a platform for consuming the literature. Like Papers, it has a robust search function. In addition, Read makes it easy to organize articles by topic and create what the developers call a “personalized medical journal.”

7. BeckonCall

Of course you need a good scheduling and communications tool for your practice! Make your life easier, improve care team coordination, eliminate the need for outdated and expensive “technology,” and keep your providers and patients happy. Questions? We’re here to help.

So, did we miss anything? Let us know about your favorite apps in the comments below.