Get Tech Smart
There’s a lot of talk about phones that count your steps and watches that monitor your heart rate, but high-tech help for personal wellness doesn’t stop there.
Pretty much head to toe, there are options, gadgets and apps to assist you in taking care of yourself. Here’s a look at possibilities:
Stay on top of your meds. Do you forget whether you took your blood pressure pills or your thyroid medication? And was it two red pills before bedtime and one white one … or the other way around? Stop worrying. There are smart, automated pill dispensers that help ensure you take the right dose of the right meds on schedule. They can even provide an alert when doses are missed and keep you connected with your nearest and dearest via video calling. Brands include Pria, Hero and MedaCube. Shop around to choose the right fit and price.
Hear better. The latest hearing aids come with features like Bluetooth connectivity, wireless technology and noise reduction so you can do more with ease. To discover the various possibilities and figure out what best suits your needs, a good place to start is davidsonhearingaids.com. An independent, family-owned company with 11 locations, Davidson works with all different hearing aid manufacturers, so that means you can have access to the latest and best products available.
Get virtual care. At Health811, health811.ontario.ca, you can chat with a nurse online at any hour of the day, seven days a week. You don’t even need to make a phone call. The live chat can be used for everything from a physical illness or injury to concerns about your mental health.
MyChart. In the Ottawa area, various hospitals and health-care providers, including the Ottawa Hospital, Hawkesbury and District General Hospital, Renfrew Victoria Hospital, Kemptville District Hospital, the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and Francis Memorial Hospital, offer MyChart. MyChart is a secure, online patient portal that gives you access to your medical and personal health information. It allows you to see test results, reports, after-visit summaries and more. For details, see ottawahospital.on.ca/en/patients-visitors/mychart.
Medical alert. If you have, say, a seizure disorder, a loved one with early-stage dementia or a family member who is vulnerable and living alone, a medical alert system can be a lifesaver—literally. There are options for fall detection, GPS tracking and around-the-clock monitoring, so help is always available. Note: Some smart watches offer fall detection as well.
Scale up. If you’re a real keener, check out the Withings smart scales. The top-end model, the Body Scan, withings.com/hk/en/body-scan, measures everything from your weight, BMI and basal metabolic rate to your metabolic age, vascular age and nerve health. And don’t forget your muscle mass, bone mass, fat mass and “visceral fat index.” Too much information? Probably. But all that data doesn’t gather dust in the bathroom, because, naturally, this scale and others in the collection feed into the Withings app so you’ll have access to all the details wherever you go. The bonus? There’s even an “eyes closed mode” so you can focus on taking positive action instead of fixating on numbers.
