iPhone mates have health expertise at their fingertips

Australian men now have the expertise of 17 leading health specialists at their fingertips with the release of Alfred Health’s myHealthMate iPhone app.

myHealthMate features a user-friendly symptom checker to help men match 20 areas of the body to over 50 common symptoms.

Head of the Disease Management Unit at The Alfred Marco Bonollo said the hospital had developed the Australian-first app to encourage men to be proactive about their health.

‘It’s a very real concern that men are over-represented as patients at The Alfred.

‘Males make up to 60 per cent of our admissions each year,’ Dr Bonollo said.

‘myHealthMate encourages men to find out more about any symptoms they are experiencing rather than ignoring them until they possibly become larger problems.’

Dr Bonollo stressed that myHealthMate was not a substitute for seeing a doctor.

‘But it reminds men of the importance of taking their health seriously.

‘Every Australian male should become mates with his doctor.

‘Women aren’t afraid to build relationships with health practitioners and, hopefully, this app will help motivate men to do the same,’ he said.

Supported by Holden, myHealthMate is a free app that can be found at Apple’s AppStores.

It is an initiative of The Alfred’s Fathers’ Day appeal.

• Visit www.myhealthmate.com.au for more information or view the vodcast at www.youtube.com/alfredhealthTV.