Lacuna Loft is always on the lookout for resources, tools, and other organizations who are helping the young adult cancer community.  We like partnering with them and we LOVE sharing them with you!  Today, I’m super excited to share a great new app that was recently released by Abridge.

Their app lets you record a conversation with your doctor, then it transcribes the verbal conversation into text, and picks out the really important parts.  You can easily tap on any medical moment to replay that specific part of the audio, so you can quickly get to the part you want to relisten to. This makes it so you can easily go back to confirm details you missed, or share the conversation with someone who wasn’t able to be there with you. Plus, the app maintains your privacy and never sells your data! The info you record is for your eyes only (or for whoever you specifically share it with) to better stay on top of all of those details you get at a doctor’s visit.

Our CEO, Mallory, and one of our program participants, Megs, recently tried out the app and are sharing their thoughts with us today!  Plus, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to see an easy gif describing the app!

Megs:

I’m excited to share my experience with this new cancer app called Abridge. The app helps patients and their caregivers record their health conversations with healthcare providers. It then takes those verbal conversations, transcribes them, and picks out the really important parts.

It was easy to register. More importantly, it was super easy to use.

I used it for my appointment with my palliative care doctor. I simply asked my nurse and then doctor if I could record our discussion. I pulled up the app and hit the record button. BOOM!

You can pause it and then keep recording until you’re completely done with the appointment. Once you hit the done button, you can save it and input a title for the recording. The app will work its magic and gather the important insights from the conversations with your healthcare providers.

Then it produces a transcription of every word spoken highlighting important keywords. The type is clear. It breaks down the conversation and timestamps it.

From there, you can share it with your family and anyone else who has downloaded the app. You can write a message, which is optional, input their email address and the app sends the message. The receiver of the message will see your personal message and then directions to download the app and register. Once registered, they can hit play and listen to your recording.

I’m impressed with this app. I find it a necessary tool for every doctor appointment. We’re often hit with so much information when talking with our doctors that we can miss other key information. This app captures every word. It allows us to fully process what is said in each visit afterward.

I highly recommend this app to every cancer patient and their caregivers. It will take the pressure off trying to take notes during the appointment so you can be fully present in the moment.

Mallory:

I tried out the Abridge app at an appointment with my OBGYN.  I was able to easily start the recording with a simple press of a button and it picked up both my own audio and that of my physician.  The app made it really easy to go back and look at what my doctor had suggested…my appointment was later in the afternoon and my attention span isn’t always as good after lunch. 😉  I was also able to email a link to the recording to my husband who wasn’t able to go with me.  The app made sharing my appointment’s transcription and audio very straight forward.

Later in the week, I actually used the app again to record my half of a phone conversation with another doctor, one taking care of a family member of mine.  I sometimes get off the phone with her and realize that I remember more of my own questions than I do her responses.  While the app could only pick up my audio, I basically repeated back to her everything she suggested so the app recording could pick it up (and so I could go back and look at it later!).  In the call, the dosage of both medications my family member needs was being changed,  as well as how often to take them.  Later in the afternoon, I realized that I couldn’t remember which new instructions belonged to which medication.  I was able to readily go into Abridge and check both the audio and the transcription to safely check what the physician had told me.  It saved me a call to the doctor’s office, because we all know how long that turn around time could be, and it gave me peace of mind right away.

I’d highly recommend this app.  It’s easy, right there on your smartphone, and takes all of the guesswork out of what details I could recall after an important health conversation with my doctor!

And that’s it!  Two recommendations for a great new tool to help you take better charge of your own healthcare.  Download the app today and let us know how you’re finding it!