With the increasing popularity of smartphones, people are able to get the information they want right out of their pocket or purse. And people are taking advantage of such convenient access to healthcare information in particular. This is part of the reason we created a mobile site, so you could have the Sherman information you want as quickly as possible. (Just visit ShermanHealth.com from your mobile phone to view the site.)

The benefits of easy-to-access healthcare apps go beyond convenience, though. Consider the Haiti earthquake victim who credits his First Aid iPhone App with helping him survive 65 hours beneath hotel rubble, as he used it to figure out how to bandage his wounds. He also set his phone alarm every 20 minutes to keep himself from sleeping, as he read that he shouldn’t sleep in a state of shock.

So below, we’re sharing a few of our favorite free healthcare iPhone apps. Consider downloading a few now to your Smartphone, so you can live healthier and possibly even save a life.

App: WebMD Mobile

Use for: Basic symptom check and treatment research. Also, use the first aid guide for emergency situations, including illustrations of CPR and what to do if someone’s choking. Also includes the basic first aid like insect bites and injuries. It’s always best to let the professionals do the diagnosing, but this basic information is handy to have as a first and immediate reference.

App: iTriage

Use for: Basic symptom, disease, and medical procedure research. Find your nearest medical facility in an emergency with turn by turn directions. Find a doctor (although the Sherman mobile site also allows you to find a doctor, so if you are looking for an Elgin specialist search Sherman as well).

App: Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal

Use for: Enter food consumed and exercise performed during the day. Tracks calories consumed and all major nutrients. Will keep track of fat, protein, carbs, sugar, fiber, cholesterol and more. Saves frequently used foods and exercises. Allows you to enter a daily diary of weight and keeps progress reports.

App: Body Fitness Free

Use for: Learn from pictures and detailed instructions over 320 exercises, organized by Core, Lower Body, Arms, Chest, Shoulders, Back, and Yoga. Bring with you to the gym, or just choose exercises you can do from home. Keep an exercise journal. Create customized workouts. Use the calendar to keep track of your progress.

App: Footsteps Pedometer

Use for: Keep track of step count, time walked, distance traveled, calories burned, and speed. It will track all your activity in a day, as well as manually track sessions when you start and stop it. Alerts you when you have traveled a specified distance. Allows you to configure your own step length for accuracy. It will even email you your sessions. You can browse your history later.

Any other good free healthcare apps out there? If you have any favorites, please pass them along to us!

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