YourHealthNS app ‘game changer’ for Annapolis County resident

If she wasn’t racking her brain to keep track of medical appointments, Rose Allen juggled stacks of notebooks detailing essential health information she needed for her personal files.

The YourHealthNS app transformed all of that. Allen, who manages multiple chronic conditions, no longer needs mounds of paper or to rely so much on her memory.

The app has given Allen something she didn’t expect: a sense of control.

“I didn’t think that a provincial government app could affect my life in such a positive way but it really has,” said Allen, who lives in the Annapolis County community of Cornwallis Park. “The YourHealthNS app has been a total game changer in how I’m able to manage my health and manage the illnesses that affect me.”

Allen lives with a multitude of health concerns and is currently on medical disability. Before becoming ill, she worked in communications and marketing. She shares her home with her mother, Diane, along with their dog and two cats. Her sister and a niece and nephew live just around the corner, forming what she describes as a close-knit family cluster.

One YourHealthNS feature she relies on is the Records section, which allows her to review reports and test results. She said it’s something she feels helps compensate for the “brain fog” that can accompany chronic illness.

The Patient Summary tool, which compiles diagnoses, medications and recent prescriptions, has also become essential.

“It’s so nice to be reminded of the things that you’re supposed to see,” she added. “I don’t have to call the doctor’s office to ask a clarification question because it’s right there.”

The app proved especially valuable during a recent medical emergency. After experiencing multiple grand mal seizures, Allen was taken to hospital unable to communicate clearly with staff.

“My brain was not functioning in a clear and coherent way to be able to talk to the medical team but I had the app on my phone, so I was able to kind of log in and we were able to go through things together.”

She says the app’s ability to consolidate her medical information, such as prescriptions, test results, diagnoses and appointment records, eased the burden of managing complex health needs.

“Sometimes I do find it challenging balancing all the information … you can’t carry six notebooks with you to a doctor’s appointment,” she explained. “It’s really easy to be able to just open the YourHealthNS app and have all of that information right at hand.

“They know when to be concerned and not to be concerned, when to call an ambulance, how to treat me after a seizure,” Allen explained. “I think it is a comfort to the people close to me.”

Allen also uses the app when dealing with her insurance provider, saying it ensures she can reference the same information the company sees.

“There can be no misunderstandings between me and the insurance company, because again, all of the information is laid out clearly,” she said.

The Patient Summary sharing feature has helped her family as well. After being diagnosed with epilepsy, Allen shared her information with relatives so they would know how to respond during a seizure.

Allen said the app has changed how she feels about her own care.

“Before using the YourHealthNS app, I felt like my own health management was not under my control,” she said. “Now that I have all of the information about my health and my records right there, it feels like that is all under my management and control.”

Photo of Rose Allen, at her Cornwallis Park home in Annapolis County, uses the YourHealthNS app to help manage her health information.

Watch the full interview here: