The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has launched a new mobile app designed to help patients be more engaged in their own healthcare.
The app, called Question Builder—which is free and available on smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers on iTunes and Google Play—aims to help patients prepare and organize questions and other information prior to medical visits.
For instance, the app allows users to input details of their upcoming appointments, such as date and reason for the visit. Users then choose questions they want to ask their doctor, starting with a list to prompt them with questions that are common in different situations. Questions can be customized to fit individual needs, and users can email information to themselves or others for reference through the app and can use it to make notes during the medical visit, according to agency officials.
The AHRQ, a federal agency dedicated to improving patient safety and quality in healthcare, developed the app with input from consumers and clinicians. The app’s creation was largely based on content from an online tool that is part of AHRQ’s long-running Questions Are the Answer public education campaign.
AHRQ officials believe that consumers like the ability to have questions and other information at their fingertips during medical visits, while doctors, nurses, and other clinicians said that better prepared patients would lead to more effective and efficient visits, and potentially more accurate diagnoses and better outcomes.
“AHRQ’s new question builder app helps patients and providers get the most out of each and every patient visit by using information to achieve the best outcomes for patients,” AHRQ Director Gopal Khanna, said in a statement. “As Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has made clear, we must create a healthcare system that pays for value. Nothing is more valuable than maximizing the time patients and providers spend together.”
Other app features include:
• Content and questions organized by type of medical encounter, such as medical visit or preparing for surgery
• Consumer education materials and videos about the importance of asking questions and sharing information
• A camera option that allows users to document visual information such as a skin rash, upload insurance or prescription medication information, and other photo-enabled features
Research has demonstrated that diagnoses and outcomes are best when patients are active members of the healthcare team. “Patients can get better care by preparing to ask questions about their care and communicating effectively with their doctors, nurses, and other providers,” said Jeff Brady, M.D., who directs AHRQ’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.
