Nowadays, there are so many apps out there that claim to improve your health. From simple health tracking and diary apps to ones that connect with patient portals, the options seem endless and can be very overwhelming. However, we want to help you make the best decisions for your health. In this article, we’ll compare two of the best healthcare apps: CareClinic and MyChart. Both of these apps offer a range of features and benefits that can help you take control of your health and wellness.
MyChart is a web-based patient portal that provides secure access to your medical records and appointment information. It allows you to view your electronic medical records, test results, and communicate with your healthcare provider.
CareClinic, on the other hand, is a comprehensive health monitoring app that allows you to track multiple aspects of your health and wellness. With CareClinic, you can input and monitor your daily water intake, food intake, and exercise routine. Additionally, the app has features that allow you to schedule and track your medication intake, as well as monitor your blood pressure and glucose levels. The app also provides educational resources and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the similarities and differences between the two, including the various features and limitations of both. Overall, you will see that both platforms are extremely useful, and what you decide to use will be based on your personal health needs.
MyChart: What it is and why use it?
MyChart is a web-based patient portal offered by many healthcare organizations in the United States. It provides patients with secure access to their medical records, test results, and appointment information. MyChart also allows patients to communicate with their healthcare providers, request prescription refills, and schedule appointments.
Many hospital systems, including Providence Health & Services, UNC health, Allina Health, Henry Ford Health, Fairview, Piedmont, Mercy, Novant, Duke, SSM, Arc, and John Hopkins have incorporated MyChart into their patient care. There are some other platforms similar to MyChart, which you may have heard about, including AthenaHealth, FollowMyHealth, and eClinicalWorks.
Using My Chart can save patients time and hassle, as they can access their medical information from anywhere with an internet connection. This can be especially helpful for patients with chronic conditions who need to monitor their health status regularly.
One of the big advantages of MyChart is its use of EMRs.
Electric Medical Records
Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) have completely changed the way physicians manage patient information. Essentially, they are electronic versions of your medical records that were previously kept on paper. For example, things like your medical history, medications, vaccines, allergies, and other images and charts from previous hospital visits, can now be kept digitally, rather than stored away in your doctor’s cabinet.
So, why are EMRs beneficial for your health? Firstly, they connect doctors with their patients, allowing doctors to very quickly connect with and send/receive information to patients. This allows physicians to receive your medical information in real-time, reducing the risk of medical errors. Secondly, EMRs replace to need to record everything by paper, which can be very time-consuming and error-prone. This translates into faster and more accurate diagnosis and treatment.
However, we should also mention the potential data privacy risks that some people may be concerned about. The most significant concern is patient privacy and data security. Patient confidentiality is a crucial tenet of healthcare, and patients have the right to know what their data is being used for and who has access to it.
EMRs on MyChart
If you use MyChart, it can integrate your EMR, if you have one. This way, you will be able to see all the information on your EMR, such as your medical history, medications, vaccines, allergies, and other images and charts from previous hospital visits. This is helpful since you can see all your medical information in one easy-to-access location
When a patient logs into MyChart, they can view their EMR and communicate with their healthcare provider to discuss their medical information. This integration allows for a more comprehensive and accessible healthcare experience for the patient. They can track their health status, manage their medications, and view their test results from anywhere with an internet connection, saving them time and hassle.
The integration of EMRs into MyChart also allows for faster and more accurate diagnosis and treatment. Healthcare providers can easily retrieve patient information and update it in real time, reducing the risk of medical errors. This can improve patient care and safety, as well as the efficiency of healthcare services.
However, there are also concerns surrounding the use of EMRs, particularly about patient privacy and data security. Patients should be aware of how their medical information is being used and protected by their healthcare providers. Moreover, healthcare providers must ensure that their systems are secure and compliant with regulations to protect patient information from cyberattacks and data breaches.
Other Features of MyCharts
In addition to providing access to electronic medical records, MyChart also offers several other features to help patients manage their healthcare needs.
Messaging
In MyChart, patients can speak to their doctors directly and safely through the platform. Patients can use this feature to ask questions, request prescription refills, and schedule appointments. This drastically makes your life more convenient, as you no longer have to go into the clinic for quick things like refills.
Virtual Visits
Many healthcare organizations now offer virtual visits through MyChart. Patients can connect with their healthcare providers through video chat or phone call, allowing them to receive care from the comfort of their own homes. Virtual visits can be especially helpful for patients who live far away from their healthcare providers or who have difficulty traveling to appointments.
Bill Pay
MyChart also allows patients to view and pay their medical bills online. Patients can see their bill history, view current charges, and make payments directly through the portal. This feature can save patients time and hassle, as they no longer need to call their healthcare provider’s billing department or mail in a payment.
Health Tracking
MyChart also offers tools to help patients track their health and wellness goals. Patients can log their weight, blood pressure, and other health metrics, and view their progress over time. This feature can be helpful for patients with chronic conditions who need to monitor their health regularly.
Should you use MyChart?
MyChart is a convenient and efficient way for patients to manage their healthcare needs. By providing access to electronic medical records, secure messaging, virtual visits, bill pay, and health tracking, MyChart offers a comprehensive and accessible healthcare experience for patients.
If you are a patient with a chronic condition who needs to monitor your health status regularly, or if you value the convenience of managing your healthcare needs from anywhere with an internet connection, MyChart may be a good option for you. Additionally, if your healthcare provider offers MyChart, using this service may streamline your communication with your healthcare provider and improve the efficiency of healthcare services.
CareClinic: Tracking Your Health on an App
The CareClinic app is a comprehensive health monitoring app that allows you to track multiple aspects of your health and wellness. With this app, you can input and monitor your daily water intake, food intake, and exercise routine. Additionally, the app has features that allow you to schedule and track your medication intake, as well as monitor your blood pressure and glucose levels. The app also provides educational resources and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as blog posts on various health topics. With the CareClinic app, you can take full control of your health and wellness, and have all your health information in one convenient location.
Features of CareClinic
Depending on your health needs and preferences, you may only use certain features of the app are are useful for you. Nevertheless, the CareClinic app has an array of features that have helped patients manage their health. Let’s take a look at some of these
Daily Check-in
On the CareClinic app, you can do daily health check-ins to monitor and manage your health on longitudinally.
Here are some of the check-in options for users:
- Diary Entry: This is a section for you to write anything you want. Simply type in whatever is on your mind, including thoughts or plan out your week, like you would do in a physical diary. The app also has a list of prompts to get you started. Journaling is an effective way of introspection and reflection, which can benefit your mental and emotional health.
- Medications: As many people are often taking multiple medications, keeping track can be a headache. The app allows you to record the specific name and dose of drug you are taking, and remind you when to take it and when to refill.
- Symptoms: Tracking your symptoms is crucial. Accurate symptom information can help inform your doctor on how to approach your case, but patients often forget or provide inaccurate information when visiting the doctor. By tracking it down daily, you can provide the most accurate history to help your doctor manage your case optimally.
- Measurements. Keeping track of different measurements is important. Such measurements can include lifestyle measurements such as weight and calories or health-related measurements like blood pressure. For example, chronic pain patients may want to record the pain they experience day to day while patients with depression may want to record their energy levels.
- Fluids: Getting enough fluid intake is vital for living a healthy lifestyle, especially if you suffer from certain conditions. The app allows you to track both the amount of fluid as well as the type of fluid you intake.
- Therapy: Life is busy, especially when you are experiencing health issues and have regular therapy sessions. It can be easy to forget, but with CareClinic, you can track your therapy sessions and receive reminders for when they are.
Care Plan
The CareClinic app will take in all the information you provide during daily check-ins and display a comprehensive care plan based on this information. This way, you will have all the information related to your health in one easy-to-navigate location.
Reports
Based on the information you provide over time, the app will also provide reports in the form of logs, charts, and trends. The logs will show all the entries you have posted on the app in the different sections. The Charts can display a lot of valuable information related to your health. For example, it can show you the frequency at which you take your medications, the time you usually take them, and how well you have been adhering to them. You can also compare different measurements and the app will show trends and correlations, which can be useful for your doctor to see.
Health Pathways
The app also has several guides that can help you achieve your health goals. These guides will help you assess your condition, understand the condition, and come up with a comprehensive plan to help manage it. There are guides for everything, ranging from general health to specific conditions to mood management.
Should you use the CareClinic App?
If you are interested in managing your health conditions or keeping track of your long-term health, CareClinic is perfect for you. From managing your medications and keeping track of appointments to tracking symptoms and mood, the app is here to help with your mental and physical health.
The CareClinic app offers a comprehensive health monitoring platform that allows patients to track multiple aspects of their health and wellness. The app also provides educational resources and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, as well as a daily check-in feature that allows patients to monitor and manage their health on a longitudinal basis. The app also provides reports in the form of logs, charts, and trends based on the information provided by the patient over time.
CareClinic versus MyChart
At this point, you may be thinking about which option is the best for you. Now that we have laid out what each app does, let’s take a look at which one you may decide to use, or better yet, how you can use both to benefit your health.
The big benefit of MyChart is the integration of patient portals. This automates the process of noting down your health record, which makes keeping track of your health a lot more convenient. Seeing how useful this feature is, CareClinic is also currently working on incorporating patient portals into its app.
Managing your General Health
As mentioned, you can use MyChart to keep track of the information you receive in the clinic, whether it
be test results, doctor recommendations, or others. If you ever forget what your doctor suggested in your most recent visit, assuming they wrote it down in your patient portal, you can access this information directly on MyChart. Furthermore, MyChart also makes booking appointments more streamlined, allowing you to book directly on the app for various services. Sometimes, shopping around for an ADHD clinic is very time-consuming, and the time it takes to book an appointment could affect one’s health.
However, if you want to track your health on a long-term basis, after leaving the doctor’s clinic, CareClinic is the go-to app. All the features mentioned earlier, including symptom tracking, mood tracking, medication reminders, as well as blog posts and health programs are meant to help you live the healthiest life possible, both mentally and physically. Plus, with the ever-expanding number of features we are adding to the app, CareClinic will soon be your one-stop shop for all your health-related needs.
Managing Specific Diseases
Now, let’s take a look at a couple of examples of certain diseases and health issues you can manage using both CareClinic and MyChart
Mental Health Problems
- Mental Health Problems: The CareClinic app is very useful for helping you manage your mental health problems. It allows you to track your symptoms daily, whether it be depression or anxiety. Keeping track of what symptoms you experience and the severity daily is important in your journey to manage mental health problems, as these small achievements are what ultimately will help you overcome the larger health issue. The app also allows you to track your therapy appointments. These appointments can often be made directly on MyChart, as the app connects you to mental health professionals. Furthermore, CareClinic also has a lot of blog posts on various mental health topics, which can help you understand your condition better.
Asthma
- Asthma: Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition affecting a significant proportion of the population. Using MyCharts, you can access your clinical information, including tests like spirometry results, medications your doctors recommended you to take, and any other relevant information your physician might have recorded. Then, you can continue tracking your respiratory health on the CareClinic app, recording your symptoms, exacerbations, and medications. CareClinic also has several articles on asthma, from more general information to more specific but less common asthma-related symptoms, so you can better understand your condition.
- ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has been a big focus of CareClinic given how prevalent it is. CareClinic has many blog posts on all things related to ADHD, which contain specific information on how you can best use the app to manage your ADHD. Coupled with the ability on MyChart to book appointments with your therapist and receive your health-related information, using the two apps together can help you overcome this condition.
Best Option to Use Both
All in all, both apps have unique advantages and limitations. If you want the best outcomes for your health, the best option is to strategically incorporate both apps to track your health.
