Navigating MD Anderson? There’s an app for that
When welcoming patients and their families to Mays Clinic as part of MD Anderson’s employee Greeter Program, Megan Maisel often sees people trying to pull up appointment schedules on their phones.
In most cases, this involves a lot of scrolling and pinching.
But that’s changing, thanks to the launch of MD Anderson’s mobile application for patients, caregivers and others visiting the institution’s Texas Medical Center campus.
“People expect world-class organizations like MD Anderson to have mobile apps,” says Maisel, director of Integrated Media Communications. “We know this will improve the patient experience.”
The app — available for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android phones and tablets — helps users easily access:
- Appointment schedules
- Secure messages to and from their care teams
- Personal health records
- Patient education materials, including videos
- Patient and family resources and support services
- The latest MD Anderson news, expert insight and patient stories
- Upcoming events
- A notes feature for jotting down important information and taking photos
The app also offers the option to call or submit a question to askMDAnderson, a team of health information specialists that helps initiate the appointment-scheduling process and answers cancer- and MD Anderson-related questions.
Users also can connect to the institution’s communities on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram and other social media networks.
Perhaps most notably, the app will help people more easily navigate the
MD Anderson campus. Just select a starting point and destination, and the app will provide directions.
“Directions were the number one thing visitors wanted from the app,” says Maisel, who, along with Internet Services, tested the app with patients and caregivers before the launch.
To download the application for free, visit the iTunes store (iOS users) or Google Play (Android users) and search for MD Anderson.
