MYTH 1 – One app will fit all!

MYTH 1 – One app will fit all?

At the minute, it seems everyone is on the hunt for that one diabetes app, or that one mental health app that will help EVERYONE who has that condition or need.  But I want to ask you- do we really think there is one app for all?

I get asked all the time, “Liz what is the best app?” my answer is simple,

That question is like asking “what is the best hotel in the world?”…….It depends, where I want to go, when and with whom. This is the same with apps!

Let me give you an example, when I was diagnosed with late onset Type 1 Diabetes, I needed information and education about my new diagnosis – I was in shock.  I may have also benefited from talking to other diabetic people to ask questions and learn about my new condition, and what is great is that we now see many apps with these functions and features, BUT now nearly ten years on I know about my condition, and really need a tool that will help me to monitor my sugars and provide me with data to help me manage my condition. My needs have CHANGED.

What would have worked for me before, is now fully redundant, but thankfully there is a whole load of other apps which offer me the features I now need.

I suppose this is where we started with medication, so years ago if we had an infection we would give everyone penicillin, but now we know different antibiotics work better in different infections, and as we move to a world including genomics, we can be even more precise!

We need to think about apps in the same way, one size will not fit all, and until we accept that, we will stop the right app from getting to the right person. We may even say that an app has failed, but it is more likely THAT app wasn’t designed for THAT person. If we can understand this we can move to a place where people can get the right products at the right time, and better outcomes can be achieved.

If you want to understand how you can help your populations and professionals to choose the best app for them, their families or their patients get in touch with ORCHA today at Hello@orcha.co.uk