Using Digital Health Tools to Help Maintain Good Health
There are a many digital tools available to help you maintain good health, including "wearables" and hundreds of smartphone apps. Which ones are most helpful? How can you determine if one will benefit you?
Featured Speaker:
Anirudh Rai, MD
Anirudh Rai, MD is a Primary Care Physician at Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care. He recently completed a residency in Family Medicine at Saint Joseph Providence Hospital in Eureka, California. He has also done extensive medical research in the treatment of kidney disease and other medical conditions. Transcription:
Using Digital Health Tools to Help Maintain Good Health
Melanie Cole (Host): There are so many digital tools available to help you maintain good health, including wearables and hundreds of smartphone apps. But how do you know which ones are the most helpful for you? Welcome to It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole. Joining me today is Dr. Anirudh Rai. He's a primary care physician at Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care. Dr. Rai, I'm so glad to have you with us. This is a really exciting and huge topic. I'd like you to start by telling us how are digital health tools changing the practice of medicine in your opinion?
What role do you feel technology has played in the management of patients, and how much do you providers rely on patient provided data when it comes to managing a patient's health? I mean, how is self-monitoring transforming the healthcare industry?
Dr Anirudh Rai: Yeah, absolutely. It's a pleasure to be on show again and I'd like to keep going on that, question per se. So, in the recent least couple years, yeah, we've been relying on technologies way more. And it's become quite imperative, at least for, primary care perspective of getting more data. For example, heart rates really, can't monitor heart rates in office all the time. And sometimes when you have different physical findings, you're worried about something going on there, it does give us a lot of insight about how you feel and what your readings from, let's say your watch or whatever application you're using to monitor that kind of goes off.
It gives us some idea of how to proceed forward. So it does help us in that regard as well. So, it is something that's, quite helpful when it comes to furthering the data. We need to kind of get you to the right diagnosis if it's something that you're concerned about and it does help us at least to get you to the right avenue. So it is something that's very helpful when it comes to the primary care perspective.
Melanie Cole (Host): Oh, it certainly is. It's really exciting to see some of these things that I have seen and done shows on, because I think that it's a way that patients can provide this data to their healthcare practitioners, and then even healthcare practitioners can share them with other healthcare members on the same team. I really think that it's so cool what I've been seeing. Now, tell us about the new wave of devices that you think are worth talking about. There's at home sleep studies, there's monitors, there's apple watches, there's things for blood sugar and insulin and activity and nutrition, and what do you like?
Dr Anirudh Rai: That's a great question. Honestly, that's a huge topic in itself. All you kind of mentioned, but I'll give you sort of preview about each one per se. So the home sleep studies have been quite imperative to kind of give us an idea if you would benefit from any sort of, machine or if you have sleep apnea. I think it's been a huge relief when it comes to the sleep study labs because before all this, you require people to actually go into laboratories where you're monitored. And thankfully enough, we have technology to the point where we can actually do this at home and, honestly it gives us pretty decent amount of data that get us to the diagnosis we need.
So it's very nice to have. As far as I'm aware of, it is something that has to be sent from a doctor as it has to be prescribed and the study has to be ordered, but it is a device that is sent to your home and you all the instructions take care of that. When it comes to diabetes and insulin, C Jones, which are continuous glucose monitors, has been really impressive. I've been very happy with the patients who have been on it overall. The issue with that per se, is the insurance does a hard time covering it. We're getting the point where technology's become more affordable, things become more mainstreamed.
I am hoping and, thinking that in the future it's becoming something more easy to access for patients and what that helps us provide is a much more real time data on how patient's sugars have been. And, that has been more, accurate than a1c, which have we have been using in labs where you have to come in, get some lab work done. So, It's something I'm hoping gives us more data to get you to a more imperative control of sugars for patients who have diabetes. The other ones you mentioned would be the watches. And from my understanding, the watches currently monitor patient's heart rates.
And like I mentioned prior, the heart rates monitoring has been pretty helpful to determine if, people have certain palpitations they're worried about? Is there something that concerns them from that regard? And knowing that actually gives us an idea to move forward whether we need something called zaropatch, a more and thorough analysis of patients heart rate, and it gives cardiologists a better idea as well. So it is something that has been very helpful to give us a better idea of how to move forward from a patient to patient perspective. So, I'm very happy that we're going to that point, we're becoming more technologically advanced, and that's becoming better for patient care.
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, it certainly is, and as we're talking about all of these things, and I'm glad you mentioned, for insulin and continuous glucose monitors. I mean, right there, that's something that's so helpful. Now, as we look at the more consumer-centric ones that patients that people can buy just on their own fitness trackers are. They're monitoring, exercise, heart rate. They even have ones now that can monitor falls for seniors, that can monitor how much somebody's walking, how they're getting out of bed, balance, all of these things that can help protect our seniors, that can help protect people. Tell us a little bit about any fitness trackers that you think are really special that Yeah, I know this Apple Watch is really hitting the market hard, so what do you think of some of these?
Dr Anirudh Rai: Overall, I really can't mention a particular application per se as I'm not endorsing any particular brand, but I would say that application that fit to a certain lifestyle you like, for instance, if you like to walk and if there's a counter that gauges how often you walk. It is pretty inspirational. It keeps you going to that certain extent, keeping you fit, keeping you in shape, keeping you inspired. I think those are quite advantageous in, keeping patients more active. The heart rate is another great monitor of when patients exercise, they keep a track of how their heart rate goes up and down, and it is a great sort of way to see how hard your body's working.
So overall, I wouldn't really say I have a particular application I'm saying go to this application per se, since I'm really not endorsing any, and I don't like to end endorse any particular brand right now. But I would say that any application that you're. happy with. And whether it's the one with Apple Watches or Google, there are multiple applications out there and they're quite helpful to get you to a place where you are more inspired to move forward. Exercise is one of the main thing. Weight loss is another thing. So there's many applications out there, and honestly, in this current world we live in, technology is becoming more mainstay. So I think it's gonna be imperative moving forward.
Melanie Cole (Host): One of the ones that I like, and it's not any particular application, but just these nutrition trackers and I think particularly cool are some of the things that you can download an app on your phone and at the grocery store you can either scan the barcode and it'll give you all of the label, if you can't read the label or if the label isn't easy to find these kinds of things. Tell us about how you feel the nutrition apps, because they're everything from all of a sudden it'll give you a recipe to use. If you're looking up Bacchoy or any of these, you just click on that app and boy, it offers everything. It can certainly help with the obesity epidemic we've got going.
Dr Anirudh Rai: Absolutely. I think it's imperative to know what people are eating, what they're ingesting, and those applications give them more empowerment to determine if this is healthy for them or not. And thankfully our doctors are there to guide us in that regards if they're ever worried about something per se. So I think it is something that, I do encourage. And like you mentioned, getting good weight, watching, monitoring what you eat, those are all very important tools that give patients more power, give patients more control, and moving forward in their journey to whether become more fit, lose weight, eat healthier, etcetera. I think those have been quite vital and I'm very helpful and I'm very grateful that such apps are actually present that can aid our patients step by step.
Melanie Cole (Host): Oh, I agree with you. I wanna ask you this question, it fits into our topic, but what are your thoughts about virtual reality and its potential applications in healthcare? This isn't necessarily patient-centric, something that we can buy for ourselves, but in the medical community and within the whole healthcare industry, this is being looked at more and more. And how might advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence improve the care that you're delivering as a healthcare professional?
Dr Anirudh Rai: Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are kind of solely getting integrated into that timeframe, and then I'm seeing that from time to time as well. But there are certain limitations, at least from my perspective I do see, just because when it comes to patient care, it's always nice to have the physical presence of the patient to do physical exam, but when it comes to follow up care in behavioral health and psychiatry, that's become quite imperative. And to a certain degree, almost main stages because covid caused all these lockdowns. And having that sort of tele monitoring and tele response to your doctor, I think is vital when it comes to continuing care in the setting of high stress, depression, anxiety.
But when it comes to, other fields like radiology, AIs have become essential, almost to a certain degree when it comes to finding certain diagnosis, reading certain images, and I know radiologists are using that as well. So it is something that's being integrated into the healthcare system, whether it's gonna be something that's gonna completely take over, I doubt it. But it is something that has been a game changer when it comes to providing care to patients who aren't able to either go to the office, who aren't able to walk, etcetera. So it's something that allows our preview of care to be reached to a wider audience, which I think is important.
Melanie Cole (Host): I'm really glad you mentioned tele medecine as well, because that's really transformed for some patients. Really transformed the way that they get to see their healthcare provider. And I know like you say, it's always hands on, is certainly going to be more comprehensive and better in so many circumstances. But like for psychiatry and we've got such a mental health crisis in this country right now, it's making it more readily available for people in rural areas. For people who don't have access or a ride. Telemedicine has really transformed so much. Do you think it's here to stay? I mean, it showed up because of Covid, but now it would seem to be something that I don't think is going anywhere.
Dr Anirudh Rai: Yeah, that's a good question. And I think that's always been the concern for many people in general. But from my perspective, I think it's something that is likely gonna stay. The issue I guess, is whether insurances and billing will accept that sort of care, but it is something that I'm relatively confident should stay to it because it provides a wider preview of care to a wider audience. Which I think helps not only give patients to a proper standpoint that they like to be in a better quality of life, et cetera. It's something that allows doctors to educate patients more effectively to a certain degree as well. So, I'm confident that it should stay, and I'm hoping it does.
Melanie Cole (Host): I hope it does too. I mean, it's been nice for me if I wanna see my GI, but I don't wanna necessarily go in and he just wants to talk to me about something. It's a nice quick visit. Right. And I can do it right from the privacy of my own home before we wrap up. When we were talking about fitness trackers, I forgot to mention because some of the cool ones that I saw out there, Dr. Rai was like one that you play hide and seek or it sends you on a path to go on. So it really encourages walking and exercise by playing games kind of while you do it, which I think is so cool because some people need that motivation. Besides they think it's boring to just walk and this gives you something to look forward to and a goal to shoot for. Have you heard about any of these?
Dr Anirudh Rai: I've not heard about the hide and seek one, but I have come across the almost like scavenger hunt missions where people kind of go back and forth to different areas and I think that goes back to the point and the certain idea of how obesity and how less activity has been noted at least in the US to a certain extent. And I think it's imperative that we have applications that promote that lifestyle. Just to give you a quick example, when it comes to even blood pressure, I would say prevalence is about 70% in the US population.
To decrease that, I mean, weight loss goes a long way. It decreases blood pressure about 20%, so it's pretty effective. So getting people moving, whether it's by application, getting them motivated to work out more and walk more, is gonna be imperative to get people in a healthier state of mind, and so that their future looks a bit more bright and less frightening.
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, you just brought up, probably the biggest digital tool that we've had in the last 20 years is home blood pressure monitor. I mean, that's something that has definitely changed the landscape of medicine. We used to have to go to the doctor to get the blood pressure cuff, and I, as an exercise physiologist always carried one around with me, but it was the old Figno Manometer. Oh, good. I said that and it was mercurial and I carried that thing around from house to house and now, anybody that I would see has their own that they got at their local pharmacy.
So I mean, that's a really cool advancement as far as digital tools, but I'd like you to wrap it up for us. What do you want listeners to take away from this podcast? Because there's so many exciting things on the market today. Give us your best Doc.
Dr Anirudh Rai: I'm glad you brought up the historical advances. I think we've come a long way from the Mercury for sure, and I'm glad we're moving in the right direction. I think the takeaway message that I would promote is to, definitely utilize these applications, these tools as much as you can, and follow up with your doctor as well. I think it goes a long way when you have a medical profession interpreting this type of data because it gives them more insight and it gives you more insight as well.
So utilize this data, utilize these apps, utilize whatever form of healthcare you can when it comes to technologies and will find, at least to a certain extent, gets you to the state where you're doing better, feeling healthier, feeling less depressed, less anxious. So definitely take advantage of all these technologies as best you can, but always rely on your doctor to help interpret the data, just because having the data is great, but interpretation goes much further.
Melanie Cole (Host): Thank you so much, Dr. Rai for joining us. And Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care is accepting new patients. To make an appointment, call 661-200-1710 or visit henrymayo.com and click on the primary care link at the top of the page. You can also visit the free health information This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for so much great information that you know that you can trust. Dr. Rai, thank you again for joining us. That concludes this episode of It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole.
Using Digital Health Tools to Help Maintain Good Health
Melanie Cole (Host): There are so many digital tools available to help you maintain good health, including wearables and hundreds of smartphone apps. But how do you know which ones are the most helpful for you? Welcome to It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole. Joining me today is Dr. Anirudh Rai. He's a primary care physician at Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care. Dr. Rai, I'm so glad to have you with us. This is a really exciting and huge topic. I'd like you to start by telling us how are digital health tools changing the practice of medicine in your opinion?
What role do you feel technology has played in the management of patients, and how much do you providers rely on patient provided data when it comes to managing a patient's health? I mean, how is self-monitoring transforming the healthcare industry?
Dr Anirudh Rai: Yeah, absolutely. It's a pleasure to be on show again and I'd like to keep going on that, question per se. So, in the recent least couple years, yeah, we've been relying on technologies way more. And it's become quite imperative, at least for, primary care perspective of getting more data. For example, heart rates really, can't monitor heart rates in office all the time. And sometimes when you have different physical findings, you're worried about something going on there, it does give us a lot of insight about how you feel and what your readings from, let's say your watch or whatever application you're using to monitor that kind of goes off.
It gives us some idea of how to proceed forward. So it does help us in that regard as well. So, it is something that's, quite helpful when it comes to furthering the data. We need to kind of get you to the right diagnosis if it's something that you're concerned about and it does help us at least to get you to the right avenue. So it is something that's very helpful when it comes to the primary care perspective.
Melanie Cole (Host): Oh, it certainly is. It's really exciting to see some of these things that I have seen and done shows on, because I think that it's a way that patients can provide this data to their healthcare practitioners, and then even healthcare practitioners can share them with other healthcare members on the same team. I really think that it's so cool what I've been seeing. Now, tell us about the new wave of devices that you think are worth talking about. There's at home sleep studies, there's monitors, there's apple watches, there's things for blood sugar and insulin and activity and nutrition, and what do you like?
Dr Anirudh Rai: That's a great question. Honestly, that's a huge topic in itself. All you kind of mentioned, but I'll give you sort of preview about each one per se. So the home sleep studies have been quite imperative to kind of give us an idea if you would benefit from any sort of, machine or if you have sleep apnea. I think it's been a huge relief when it comes to the sleep study labs because before all this, you require people to actually go into laboratories where you're monitored. And thankfully enough, we have technology to the point where we can actually do this at home and, honestly it gives us pretty decent amount of data that get us to the diagnosis we need.
So it's very nice to have. As far as I'm aware of, it is something that has to be sent from a doctor as it has to be prescribed and the study has to be ordered, but it is a device that is sent to your home and you all the instructions take care of that. When it comes to diabetes and insulin, C Jones, which are continuous glucose monitors, has been really impressive. I've been very happy with the patients who have been on it overall. The issue with that per se, is the insurance does a hard time covering it. We're getting the point where technology's become more affordable, things become more mainstreamed.
I am hoping and, thinking that in the future it's becoming something more easy to access for patients and what that helps us provide is a much more real time data on how patient's sugars have been. And, that has been more, accurate than a1c, which have we have been using in labs where you have to come in, get some lab work done. So, It's something I'm hoping gives us more data to get you to a more imperative control of sugars for patients who have diabetes. The other ones you mentioned would be the watches. And from my understanding, the watches currently monitor patient's heart rates.
And like I mentioned prior, the heart rates monitoring has been pretty helpful to determine if, people have certain palpitations they're worried about? Is there something that concerns them from that regard? And knowing that actually gives us an idea to move forward whether we need something called zaropatch, a more and thorough analysis of patients heart rate, and it gives cardiologists a better idea as well. So it is something that has been very helpful to give us a better idea of how to move forward from a patient to patient perspective. So, I'm very happy that we're going to that point, we're becoming more technologically advanced, and that's becoming better for patient care.
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, it certainly is, and as we're talking about all of these things, and I'm glad you mentioned, for insulin and continuous glucose monitors. I mean, right there, that's something that's so helpful. Now, as we look at the more consumer-centric ones that patients that people can buy just on their own fitness trackers are. They're monitoring, exercise, heart rate. They even have ones now that can monitor falls for seniors, that can monitor how much somebody's walking, how they're getting out of bed, balance, all of these things that can help protect our seniors, that can help protect people. Tell us a little bit about any fitness trackers that you think are really special that Yeah, I know this Apple Watch is really hitting the market hard, so what do you think of some of these?
Dr Anirudh Rai: Overall, I really can't mention a particular application per se as I'm not endorsing any particular brand, but I would say that application that fit to a certain lifestyle you like, for instance, if you like to walk and if there's a counter that gauges how often you walk. It is pretty inspirational. It keeps you going to that certain extent, keeping you fit, keeping you in shape, keeping you inspired. I think those are quite advantageous in, keeping patients more active. The heart rate is another great monitor of when patients exercise, they keep a track of how their heart rate goes up and down, and it is a great sort of way to see how hard your body's working.
So overall, I wouldn't really say I have a particular application I'm saying go to this application per se, since I'm really not endorsing any, and I don't like to end endorse any particular brand right now. But I would say that any application that you're. happy with. And whether it's the one with Apple Watches or Google, there are multiple applications out there and they're quite helpful to get you to a place where you are more inspired to move forward. Exercise is one of the main thing. Weight loss is another thing. So there's many applications out there, and honestly, in this current world we live in, technology is becoming more mainstay. So I think it's gonna be imperative moving forward.
Melanie Cole (Host): One of the ones that I like, and it's not any particular application, but just these nutrition trackers and I think particularly cool are some of the things that you can download an app on your phone and at the grocery store you can either scan the barcode and it'll give you all of the label, if you can't read the label or if the label isn't easy to find these kinds of things. Tell us about how you feel the nutrition apps, because they're everything from all of a sudden it'll give you a recipe to use. If you're looking up Bacchoy or any of these, you just click on that app and boy, it offers everything. It can certainly help with the obesity epidemic we've got going.
Dr Anirudh Rai: Absolutely. I think it's imperative to know what people are eating, what they're ingesting, and those applications give them more empowerment to determine if this is healthy for them or not. And thankfully our doctors are there to guide us in that regards if they're ever worried about something per se. So I think it is something that, I do encourage. And like you mentioned, getting good weight, watching, monitoring what you eat, those are all very important tools that give patients more power, give patients more control, and moving forward in their journey to whether become more fit, lose weight, eat healthier, etcetera. I think those have been quite vital and I'm very helpful and I'm very grateful that such apps are actually present that can aid our patients step by step.
Melanie Cole (Host): Oh, I agree with you. I wanna ask you this question, it fits into our topic, but what are your thoughts about virtual reality and its potential applications in healthcare? This isn't necessarily patient-centric, something that we can buy for ourselves, but in the medical community and within the whole healthcare industry, this is being looked at more and more. And how might advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence improve the care that you're delivering as a healthcare professional?
Dr Anirudh Rai: Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are kind of solely getting integrated into that timeframe, and then I'm seeing that from time to time as well. But there are certain limitations, at least from my perspective I do see, just because when it comes to patient care, it's always nice to have the physical presence of the patient to do physical exam, but when it comes to follow up care in behavioral health and psychiatry, that's become quite imperative. And to a certain degree, almost main stages because covid caused all these lockdowns. And having that sort of tele monitoring and tele response to your doctor, I think is vital when it comes to continuing care in the setting of high stress, depression, anxiety.
But when it comes to, other fields like radiology, AIs have become essential, almost to a certain degree when it comes to finding certain diagnosis, reading certain images, and I know radiologists are using that as well. So it is something that's being integrated into the healthcare system, whether it's gonna be something that's gonna completely take over, I doubt it. But it is something that has been a game changer when it comes to providing care to patients who aren't able to either go to the office, who aren't able to walk, etcetera. So it's something that allows our preview of care to be reached to a wider audience, which I think is important.
Melanie Cole (Host): I'm really glad you mentioned tele medecine as well, because that's really transformed for some patients. Really transformed the way that they get to see their healthcare provider. And I know like you say, it's always hands on, is certainly going to be more comprehensive and better in so many circumstances. But like for psychiatry and we've got such a mental health crisis in this country right now, it's making it more readily available for people in rural areas. For people who don't have access or a ride. Telemedicine has really transformed so much. Do you think it's here to stay? I mean, it showed up because of Covid, but now it would seem to be something that I don't think is going anywhere.
Dr Anirudh Rai: Yeah, that's a good question. And I think that's always been the concern for many people in general. But from my perspective, I think it's something that is likely gonna stay. The issue I guess, is whether insurances and billing will accept that sort of care, but it is something that I'm relatively confident should stay to it because it provides a wider preview of care to a wider audience. Which I think helps not only give patients to a proper standpoint that they like to be in a better quality of life, et cetera. It's something that allows doctors to educate patients more effectively to a certain degree as well. So, I'm confident that it should stay, and I'm hoping it does.
Melanie Cole (Host): I hope it does too. I mean, it's been nice for me if I wanna see my GI, but I don't wanna necessarily go in and he just wants to talk to me about something. It's a nice quick visit. Right. And I can do it right from the privacy of my own home before we wrap up. When we were talking about fitness trackers, I forgot to mention because some of the cool ones that I saw out there, Dr. Rai was like one that you play hide and seek or it sends you on a path to go on. So it really encourages walking and exercise by playing games kind of while you do it, which I think is so cool because some people need that motivation. Besides they think it's boring to just walk and this gives you something to look forward to and a goal to shoot for. Have you heard about any of these?
Dr Anirudh Rai: I've not heard about the hide and seek one, but I have come across the almost like scavenger hunt missions where people kind of go back and forth to different areas and I think that goes back to the point and the certain idea of how obesity and how less activity has been noted at least in the US to a certain extent. And I think it's imperative that we have applications that promote that lifestyle. Just to give you a quick example, when it comes to even blood pressure, I would say prevalence is about 70% in the US population.
To decrease that, I mean, weight loss goes a long way. It decreases blood pressure about 20%, so it's pretty effective. So getting people moving, whether it's by application, getting them motivated to work out more and walk more, is gonna be imperative to get people in a healthier state of mind, and so that their future looks a bit more bright and less frightening.
Melanie Cole (Host): Well, you just brought up, probably the biggest digital tool that we've had in the last 20 years is home blood pressure monitor. I mean, that's something that has definitely changed the landscape of medicine. We used to have to go to the doctor to get the blood pressure cuff, and I, as an exercise physiologist always carried one around with me, but it was the old Figno Manometer. Oh, good. I said that and it was mercurial and I carried that thing around from house to house and now, anybody that I would see has their own that they got at their local pharmacy.
So I mean, that's a really cool advancement as far as digital tools, but I'd like you to wrap it up for us. What do you want listeners to take away from this podcast? Because there's so many exciting things on the market today. Give us your best Doc.
Dr Anirudh Rai: I'm glad you brought up the historical advances. I think we've come a long way from the Mercury for sure, and I'm glad we're moving in the right direction. I think the takeaway message that I would promote is to, definitely utilize these applications, these tools as much as you can, and follow up with your doctor as well. I think it goes a long way when you have a medical profession interpreting this type of data because it gives them more insight and it gives you more insight as well.
So utilize this data, utilize these apps, utilize whatever form of healthcare you can when it comes to technologies and will find, at least to a certain extent, gets you to the state where you're doing better, feeling healthier, feeling less depressed, less anxious. So definitely take advantage of all these technologies as best you can, but always rely on your doctor to help interpret the data, just because having the data is great, but interpretation goes much further.
Melanie Cole (Host): Thank you so much, Dr. Rai for joining us. And Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care is accepting new patients. To make an appointment, call 661-200-1710 or visit henrymayo.com and click on the primary care link at the top of the page. You can also visit the free health information This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for so much great information that you know that you can trust. Dr. Rai, thank you again for joining us. That concludes this episode of It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole.