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What If an App Could Replace Doctor Visit During Pregnancy?

During those nine months of pregnancy, expectant moms can expectant to spend a lot of time at their doctor’s office being weighed, measured and checked. A new study examines a prenatal care app that could replace some of those in-person visits and it’s working.

A study conducted by researchers at George Washington University and published in the journal JMIR mHealth and uHealth has found that Babyscripts, a virtual care app for managing obstetrics was successful in reducing the amount of in-person prenatal care visits needed during pregnancy while maintaining patient satisfaction.

photo: Jacob Sippel via U.S. Navy

The study included pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 40 who were diagnosed with a low-risk pregnancy, meaning that they had no patient history of hypertension, diabetes, renal disease or other condition that could negatively affect the outcome of the pregnancy. According to the results of the study Babyscripts users visited their obstetrician an average of 7.8 times while those who did not use the app visited theirs an average of 10.2 times.

“The positive results of this study are a huge validation of our belief in the power of technology to support mothers and providers without compromising quality,” Anish Sebastian, CEO and co-founder of Babyscripts, said in a press release. “This research shows that mobile health has the potential to deliver precision care to mothers while allowing providers to allocate time to the most vulnerable of their patients, and ultimately save lives.”

—Shahrzad Warkentin

 

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