Web Log: RCSI MyHealth app

It is so tempting to Google every itch, scratch and cough as a potential symptom of a mysterious illness that doctors have a term for this behaviour: cyberchondria. Armed with too much information (much of which is unverified), a tendency towards hypochondria and a lack of medical training, it can be all to easy to arrive at inaccurate self-diagnosis.

Given that recent research has shown 81 percent of Irish adults have gone online seeking to self-diagnose, the MyHealth app from the Royal College of Surgeons seems a sensible place to start. It has verified, professional information on more than 800 specific health conditions as well as a list of health services in Ireland including contact details for emergency services, all hospitals and organisations such as Diabetes Ireland and the Irish Cancer Society.

The app has a nice feature for those looking to donate blood: it shows how many days' supply of all blood types are left in the country. A great incentive to give. There's also a section on health health news that includes BBC Medical News and Irish Times Health.

https://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/ rcsi-myhealth/id960310771?mt=8