Community Corner

Doctor Creates iPhone App to Supplement Check-ups

Concerned with the little time patients get with their physician, Shorewood resident Paul Hartlaub created an iPhone application with health tips.

The typical patient will send an average of seven minutes consulting with a doctor about their health, but for one Shorewood doctor, that simply wasn't enough time so — he created an app for that. 

A specialist in preventive medicine with the Wheaton Franciscan Medical Group, Paul Hartlaub developed My Health Checklist 2011, an application for the iPhone that presents health recommendations he gathered from research-based organizations such as the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

“It allows you to learn and improve your health outside of a checkup, but just as importantly helps you to prepare for that check-up," Hartlaub said. "That way you know more ahead of time about what you are really interested in, and what questions to ask.”

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Hartlaub decided to create the iPhone app to supplement doctor check-ups after one study showed that his family practice colleagues were “all over the map” in terms of what they recommended to stay healthy, and another study showed that those colleagues try to cover an average of about three problems with each patient visit. Hartlaub said he became convinced that there was a better way; a way to take the time needed to provide a complete list of health actions that are known to work

My Health Checklist users can generate a list of what is and what is not recommended simply by entering their age and gender. There is also an alphabetical list to look up health and prevention topics of interest.

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Hartlaub cautions that while his application provides a great deal of information, it is not meant to take the place of a check-up with a doctor or nurse practitioner.


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