The time before a surgery can be fraught with stressors — but communication between you and your surgeon should not be one. New apps are being designed to help overcome the medical language barrier, reconciling the fracture between surgical jargon and patient understanding by providing the doctor with interactive, visual aids.
Made for the iPad, drawMD is an educational tool where doctors can sit alongside their patients and explain a medical diagnosis or surgical procedure using interactive diagrams. Using the iPad's hands-on interface, the app provides the physician with the anatomy space (i.e.: chest cavity, abdomen, etc.) and the ability to drag and drop relevant anatomical and surgical instruments (i.e.: cysts, tumors, scalpels, etc.) as well as draw and submit text directly onto the image. If the image the doctor requires doesn't pre-exist within the app? The doctor can simply upload his own. From there, doctors can save, print, and share these images with the patients so they can discuss with their family members and other loved ones.
Some examples of the specialties available for drawMD include:
- General Surgery
- Vascular
- Cardiology
- Female Pelvic Surgery
- and more
drawMD provides a way to help your surgeon translate the medical-speak into concrete, comprehendible images, enabling you to thoroughly understand your procedure and hopefully in doing so, giving you a sense of security in the course of action you both have decided. As we have spoken about in a previous blog, Alleviating Surgical Anxiety with your Smartphone, you should above all feel comfortable with your surgical decision. Be sure to work with your surgeon to understand your diagnosis and be comfortable in your action plan.