The Defense Department unveiled the T2 Mood Tracker app for Android, allowing veterans and military personnel to monitor their emotional health. An iPhone version will follow in 2011.
The
Defense Department has developed a smartphone application for the military,
called T2 Mood Tracker, that enables veterans and current members of the
service to keep track of their emotions and behaviors following
deployment.
Users
can record information on therapy, medication, daily events and environmental
changes, the department reports.
Mood
Tracker was created by T2 (The National Center for Telehealth &
Technology), a department agency based in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
T2
also manages the department's telehealth program.
Veterans
are increasingly making use of mobile telehealth technology to communicate
medical information to and from physicians over long distances, especially in
rural areas.
"Therapists
and physicians often have to rely on patient recall when trying to gather
information about symptoms over the previous weeks or months," Perry
Bosmajian, a psychologist with T2, noted in a statement. "Research
has shown that information collected after the fact, especially about mood,
tends to be inaccurate. This application can improve the quality of the
treatments for the provider and the patient."
The
app allows military personnel to monitor post-traumatic stress, brain injury,
life stress, depression and anxiety. They can also share the information with
therapists and physicians.
Within
the app, graphs allow users to track trends in emotional health and compare
daily experiences with emotional reactions over time.
Post-traumatic
stress and brain injury are common problems that occur after deployment to
combat zones, according to T2. Following emotional experience over time can be
therapeutic, the agency reports.
"The
best record of an experience is when it's recorded at the time and place it
happens," Bosmajian said.
Military
personnel may record daily events such as medication schedule, environmental
and interpersonal stress, marital status changes, and injuries. Users can also
customize areas to monitor.
Although
HIPAA rules on data storage apply to health care providers once the user has
shared the data with them, Mood Tracker information resident on the patient's
smartphone is not subject to the rules, T2 reports. It's up to the patient to
secure the data.
Military
personnel can download the application from
T2health.org.
T2
has also created Tactical Breathing Trainer, an iPhone app that instructs
members of the military on how to cope with stressful events. It includes
breathing exercises to manage heart rate, emotions and concentration during
combat situations. The app is also suitable for the general public, according to
the agency.
Tactical
Breathing Trainer for the iPhone will be available in early 2011, and an
Android version will follow.
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