Apps and telehealth for Covid-19 rehabilitation
Apps to assist during Covid-19 - recommended by NHS.
Covid-19 has changed life as we know it for everyone and has had a major impact on the population. Rehabilitation is not a new concept to the NHS or NHS therapists but we are having to adapt the way in which we are doing it and for a medical condition that we have not seen before.
You have asked us
"what apps can be used to help with rehabilitation of patients following Covid-19."
In true mytherappy style we have listened and done our best to answer.
These apps have all passed our independent health app digital safety check. They are being used by clinicians and our NHS health network tell us that these apps are useful in the battle against Covid-19. You can find out more about how we test our apps here, Mytherappy app testing process.
These are the apps that we are currently aware of that may assist in the rehabilitation of patients who are recovering from Covid-19 or to help speech therapists, physiotherapists, Occupational therapists and all health care professionals carry out their roles in a socially distant way during this time.
For a full list of all the apps we recommend to assist rehabilitation and recovery following a variety of conditions such as Stroke and Brain Injury find us at www.my-therappy.co.uk
To keep up to date with other articles similar to this, including our Top 5 apps for Stroke, Brain Injury, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy you can follow us on Twitter or check out our news page.
Apps for severely affected patients or patients in critical care.
Critical Care and ICUs up and down the country have been hard hit by Covid-19. They have had to adapt quickly and efficiently to ensure the welfare of those patients most severely affected. We completely take our hats off to all staff working in ICU. It can also be a scary place to be as a patient. It is great though that there has been so many patients successfully discharged from ICU.
These apps have been identified as a help during and post their ICU stay.
My ICU Voice
This app is to aid symptom management and communication for patients while they are in ICU. They may not be able to communicate their needs for a variety of reasons such as ventilation but being able to communicate can help with anxiety and help with explaining how they are feeling. This app is designed specifically for that purpose and even has a Covid-19 section. It's clear, easy to follow and can be customised.
Developer: myicuvoice.
Available on: Apple
Cost: Free
Squeezy and Squeezy for men -
This app is designed to help rehabilitate your pelvic floor muscles. This is often needed following catheterisation during an ICU stay. There is an app for Women and one for men. It gives clear, easy instructions and prompts to help you regularly and correctly excercise those all important muscles in a discreet way.
Developer: Squeezyapp
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: £2.99
Cycle of Breathing Techniques
Breathing techniques are a key part of rehabilitation post Covid-19. This video explains it to patients and other healthcare professionals in an easy to follow format.
Apps for health care professionals.
As therapists and healthcare professionals talking to our patients is at the heart at what we do. For some of us during this pandemic we have been faced with the challenge of how to do this from a safe, socially distance way Video calls and telehealth have seen a massive rise and we have had to learn how to adapt our practice accordingly.
These apps or technology resources have been found to be useful during this adaption.
One minute Voice Warmup
This app helps you protect your voice during prolonged use. It is designed by leading vocal coaches and a speech and language therapist to help you warm up your vocal cords before doing a long talk or using your voice for a prolonged period. This can help you protect your voice.
With the switch to video conferencing and calls therapists have found they are having to project their voice a lot more and ensure they are clearer in the pronunciation. This app can help you achieve this and protect your voice.
Developer: Speechtools
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: £2.99
Attend Anywhere.
This is a telehealth platform that is helping patients and health care professionals complete video conferences in a secure and confidential way. They offer encrypted video conferencing to governments and hospitals. This makes it possible for your consultation, treatment session or discharge planning discussion to still go ahead despite Covid-19 restrictions.
It is available to NHS trusts within England and Wales. You are required to have an account and for channels to be set up for your department. Contact your NHS IT teams for more information or view the video demonstrations on the attend anywhere website.
We utilise this service throughout our hospitals for patient sessions.
Developer: Attendanywhere
Zoom
Zoom, not just for the family quiz! Reaching multiple people at once is tricky. Our Mytherappy clinicians have been using Zoom to ensure continuity and a continued service for our Parkinson's class.
For long term conditions such as Parkinson's it is essential to keep moving and ensure maintenance of your health and movement. Where this is normally achieved via a Parkinson's class it can now be achieved by Zoom.
Zoom can host up to 500 people. That's a big class! As it is a non encrypted app it is essential that you ensure all class members are aware of this and happy to still participate.
Developer: Zoom
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free
Hospify
This is a communication app for healthcare professionals. Similar to Whats app in its approach and style but encrypted and secure. It enables healthcare workers to have quick, easy and instant confidential communication.
Our NHS staff have been using it to keep team communication up to date and share complex discharge information during the fast paced climate. Email isn't always available and this provides a safe and easy alternative.
Developer:
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free
Apps and resources for rehabilitation post covid-19.
The chartered society of physiotherapy have produced a range of exercise videos and tips to help keep people active during Covid-19 and as part of rehabilitation. Our highlights are the:
exercises to keep older people active
Sit Fit
Sit Fit is a seated exercise programme designed to help people who are unable to participate in traditional standing exercise to still maintain activity levels. There are clear, easy to follow videos of three different levels to complete. Our clinicians use this app to help keep patients who have decreased standing balance or stamina to remain active. It was made as part of a women's health initiative and as such the exercises are introduced by a welsh girls rugby team.
This is a good one for those low level patients or people whose stamina is just increasing.
Developer: Candlhat
Available on: Apple
Cost: Free
Couch to 5K
This is an exercise coach app designed to help people regain their exercise stamina and tolerance through running. It will coach you from a complete beginner to being able to run 5K. It breaks it down into easy to achieve bite sized sessions.
The app offers you a choice of coach and different music options and gives you helpful tips along the way.
This is a great app to encourage patients who want to regain their fitness to use and maybe one for the healthcare professionals to give a go as well!
Our clinicians use it for those high level patients.
Developer: NHS
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free
Calm
Calm is a leading app for meditation and sleep. App features guided meditation to elivate stress. Recommended by top psychologists, therapists, and mental health experts. Helps beginners learn mindfulness techniques and advances through to intermediate and advanced users.
Guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes so you can choose the perfect length to fit with your schedule.
Developer: Calm
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free initially with in app purchases
Headspace
This app gives people bite sized accessible meditation to help manage anxiety and mood. One of our most popular mood apps. The amazing people at headspace have made headspace free to NHS workers for the next year. Speak to your Occupational Health department for more details and to obtain your code. They have also created a current section called weathering the storm to help people manage their thoughts and anxieties during Covid-19.
Developer:
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost:Free initially with in app purchases
NHS App
Accessing the NHS and NHS services is essential. During Covid-19 systems have been busy and so this access has at times been tricky. This app allows people to book appointments, have consultations, find out information about local services etc all at the touch of a button and from the safety of their own home.
Developer: NHS
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free
NHS COVID-19
This is a new one to us and we are yet to test the usage of it. Here is what the NHS says.
"Developed by the NHS with a team of world-leading scientists and doctors, the NHS COVID-19 app will play an important role in the fight against coronavirus.
If you develop symptoms of coronavirus, the app will:
- anonymously warn other app users who have been near you
- provide advice from the NHS on the right action to take to help stop the virus spreading further
- help you to get a swab test
This is essential in allowing the country to stay one step ahead of the virus. The app is being launched on the Isle of Wight as part of the first phase of a large-scale, integrated phone-based contact tracing and swab testing programme. This will play a central role in how the UK manages the rate of coronavirus transmission going forward."
Developer: NHS Covid
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free
Covid symptom study
A key app in the battle against Covid-19. This app is designed by kings college London to feed into a research study they are completing. There are two parts to the app:
HEALTH INFORMATION
You will be asked to share some general information, such as your age and some health information, such as whether you have certain diseases.
SYMPTOM TRACKING
We will ask you every day to let us know how you feel, so you can share your symptoms. We will also ask whether you have visited the hospital, what treatment you received there, and whether you have been tested for COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Developer: king college london
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free
After Trauma
The app has been co-designed with serious injury survivors, carers, doctors and therapists. Features include a recovery tracker, challenge setter, and a diary where users can load up personal notes and images of their recovery. The app provides information on both physical and emotional impacts of serious injury. It also includes a chat feature to allow users to connect with and talk to other survivors and carers. Information saved on the app can be shared with family, friends and clinicians.
The app is designed to promote self management and guide patients through their recovery journey.
Developer: After Trauma
Available on: Apple and Android
Cost: Free
PhysiApp
Bespoke home exercise programme that can be set up by your Physiotherapist, clinican or health care worker for you to follow in the comfort of your own home.
What they say "The PhysiApp® app lets you download your PhysiApp home exercise program to your Android phone. Working with your healthcare provider you are given an access code to access your bespoke programme. Receive your custom-made home exercise program, consisting of high-definition, clearly narrated exercise videos. You can even use Chromecast to play the videos on your Chromecast device.
From now, you will know exactly which exercises have been prescribed to you, and how you are supposed to perform them.
With PhysiApp, you can securely report back to your physiotherapist or chiropractor how much you completed of a given exercise, and if you felt any pain.
PhysiApp lets your physiotherapist or chiropractor track your progress in detail, and intervene if necessary.
Developer: Physiapp
Available on:
Cost: Free
We hope this has been helpful. We are happy to keep updating this so if there is an app that you are finding useful let us know and we can test it and let you know our thoughts. Lets help each other out and share share share.