Searching for a virtual personal health assistant

I have a long list of things I want to do, see and buy should I ever win a multi-million-dollar lottery jackpot. In addition to becoming a philanthropist, these include spending at least a few months touring all over Australia, and purchasing a small island paradise – installing myself as the reigning, yet benevolent, monarch.

I have now added something else to that list. I want a virtual personal health assistant.

In a 2005 Esquire article, author A.J. Jacobs described his experiment outsourcing his personal assistant needs to a company in India. It’s a great read (as are all his books and articles), and I always had it in the back of mind that someday I would like to have some level of personal assistance, both for work and for life in general. A cross between a butler, an administrative assistant and Kramer’s intern on Seinfeld.

Looking over the broad spectrum of mobile health apps available in the market, there would appear to be something – no, many things – for everyone. In addition to those with which most of us are already familiar, there are new, innovative ideas brought forth every day. One that caught my attention is a sensor and mobile app that helps you maintain good posture. Reading about it, I couldn’t help but hear my mother’s voice yelling “Sit up straight!” As a matter of fact, as I typed that last sentence, I corrected my slumping posture.

That’s just part of what got me thinking about this. First of all, there are so many different apps out there, but what I want is one that ties them all together. Why are Meditech and Epic are so popular in the hospital provider market? Because everything is all in one system, and it’s all (relatively) integrated. The same goes for single sign-on and context management solutions. Yet a health-conscious individual may have dozens of apps on his or her mobile device, requiring switching back and forth and logging in as needed, and none of it is integrated. Here in New York and other large population centers where consumers have a bevy of healthcare providers from which to choose, those providers may not all be affiliated with the same organization, resulting in different apps with which to interact to, say, make an appointment or request a refill.

I recently went to see a podiatrist because I’d been suffering from plantar fasciitis. The treatment is fairly simple, but it required me to make a list and add several new things to my schedule to do over a two-week period. I had to stretch three times a day (with separate instructions for each stretch, including timing), take an anti-inflammatory twice a day, apply ice twice a day (again, with separate instructions as to timing for ice, no ice, ice), and remember to wear a night splint. Oh – and I had to get a specific type of clog which had to be kept bedside, as I was not to get out of bed in the morning and walk barefoot. That’s a lot to remember, and short of adding all of these things to my calendar, I realized that there is likely no one mobile health app that would facilitate all of this in an easy-to-use fashion. I could use a medication reminder app, and an exercise app, and maybe there’s a bedtime checklist/reminder app (“Brush teeth. Floss. Put on night splint”). Perhaps there’s even a clock app that will let me program a voice clip of “Put on your clogs!” as the alarm (preferably in my mother’s voice). But all of these do not likely exist in one easy-to-use and integrated app.

Problem number one: Too many apps and no integration. Problem number two: I want my mother – or at least someone whom I will listen to ashamedly – to remind me to demonstrate healthy behaviors. I want that voice in my head – or, as the case may be, my Bluetooth headset – reminding me to take my meds, make better eating choices, burn x number of calories today. And yes, to sit up straight.

What I need is a virtual personal health assistant. I need something more than Siri. I need someone or something that will easily accept instructions, parse them into appropriate actions, and then remind me to do all these things. I want to interface with only one app, person or service for this. And I don’t want to wait until I hit the lottery, either.

And speaking of the lottery, there is one more thing I would do if I hit it big. Lorne Michaels, if you’re reading this, I will write you a check for $3,000 to appear on Saturday Night Live.

The views expressed in this blog are my own and do not reflect the views of my employer.