When it comes to health IT trends, it’s hard to see a downside. Mhealth offers the attraction of helping people manage their conditions, from medication reminders to scheduling appointments. Telehealth can make healthcare more accessible and social networks can help patients feel less isolated from each other.
Look at the 1.4 billion people who are overweight. Weight management apps can help users control every aspect of their weight loss program. They can view calories for food and drink, see how many calories they burn for different activities, among other things. Apps seem like an indispensable part of managing diet and exercise. They’re convenient and can help people track their progress. But eating disorders also highlight a troubling downside for several different health IT applications. One person’s helper can be an enabler for someone else.
Some psychologists see calorie counter apps as a painfully easy way for patients with anorexia to enable their behavior.
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Dr. Lara Pence is a clinical psychologist and director of alumni affairs with The Renfrew Center, a residential eating disorder treatment center. In a phone interview with MedCity News, when asked about a potential downside for mobile health apps, she said, “A lot of clients work off the notion that the more information they have, the more control they have.”
Telehealth has been one way to eliminate geographic obstacles that can come between patients and physicians, particularly in rural areas. But for certain cognitive disorders, it may not be such a good option. Pence points out that psychologists need to be careful so as not to collude with patients in their isolation.
“A lot of our philosophy is about how relationships heal. I think that healing experience can be helped by the energy in the room.”
Some of the social networks that have been so helpful in connecting patient communities have also been undermined by people with anorexia nervosa and bulimia to promote their condition as a lifestyle choice. Anorexia associations have criticized the people behind these groups for creating an “unhealthy sense of community” that glorifies the condition and can create a bad influence.
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Last year, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram changed content rules to address eating disorders and self-harm. Pinterest has also worked to get rid of pro-anorexia pins. Still, they have not been able to eradicate the blogs and posts that link to their Web-based communities. A quick search on Tumblr for “pro ana,” shorthand for pro anorexia, produced mostly images in support of anorexia from slides of advice on how to avoid thinking about food to images of underweight women with bones protruding from their slight frames. A pop-up does appear before viewers proceed.
“If you or someone you know is dealing with an eating disorder, self harm issues or suicidal thoughts, please visit our counseling prevention resource page for a list of services that may offer help.”
Technology is permeating so many realms of healthcare and is making it easier to connect patients with doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and each other. But it’s important to keep in mind that health IT tools aren’t a panacea and consider how to combat their abuse.
