Latest News and Updates

By Brett Shamosh (CEO & Founder)

I've had Ulcerative Colitis since the age of 16 and I've never been good about tracking my symptoms. So I built an iPhone app. for patients to provide better data to their docs...and then I built an online app...and then I made sure they sync'd...and then I realized that this data could potentially help find better treatments and maybe even a cure for my condition. This is my blog...where you can keep up to date on WellApps services like GI Monitor and everything I learn along my journey as I aim to influence the future of "participatory health".

New Releases Available

The newest release of the iPhone App (GI Monitor 3.2) is now available for upgrade. The most important feature of this latest update is multi-client sync support. You can now log data from any device - iPhone, iPad, iTouch, Blackberry (requires latest Blackberry release - BB users, please get this from our site or BlackBerry App World) and the online app. Android will be released very soon!

The newest version of GI Monitor for the iPhone also includes enhanced Daily Logs views (a very popular patient request).

New Printed/Emailed Reports

We recently worked with some physicians to recreate printed/emailed reports. From your online account, go to the My Status page, choose a date range and print/send your report from the bottom of the page. You should bring this to your doctor each visit to update him/her on your symptoms.

Updates, New Features and Thanks

Just a quick note to all GI Monitor users to let you know that I have recovered from an illness (unrelated to my UC) that kept me on the sidelines for about a month. Thanks to all for the kind wishes during this time. While I was sidelined, our development team continued to hammer away at some very impressive updates for GI Monitor (mobile and web). These features will be announced soon and the new iPhone update will be available (pending Apple’s approval process). I will update everyone very soon with a detailed explanation of the upgrades.

Balancing IBD and a Career

Throughout my career as a digital professional (I started in TV), I have been forced to work from home from time to time, due to flare-ups of my Ulcerative Colitis. I have always been “tech friendly”, but my health condition definitely pushed me to become as efficient as possible as a telecommuter. Leveraging technologies to work remotely when necessary keeps me comfortable and happy on a personal level, resulting in increased productivity in my professional life.

McGwire’s Admission Inspires Remission?

In light of Mark McGwire’s recent admission to taking steroids, I have been inspired to come clean as well. I have taken steroids throughout my career as an Ulcerative Colitis patient.

Ever since I was a young boy, it has been my dream to run to the bathroom as infrequently as possible with the lowest levels of urgency. From time to time throughout my Colitis career, I turned to steroids to get myself into remission. I understand that what I did can be viewed as “cheating”, and for that I am sorry.

The Future of “Participatory Health”

There is no shortage of people who want to take better control of their health. As technology continues to mature, data entry points will be uber-accessible allowing consumers to easily record symptoms anytime and anyplace.

How we record symptoms today:

My Top 2 Colitis “Attack” Stories of the Decade

As the decade comes to a close, I thought I’d tell my favorite personal Colitis “Attack” stories. As all Crohn’s and Colitis patients know (by the way, I’ve been diagnosed with both over the years, but the latest is left-sided UC), when you gotta go, you gotta go. Here are 2 stories that illustrate that fact.

Story #2

The Value of Patient Data

There are many reasons for communication breakdowns between patients and physicians, ranging from intimidating doctors to limited physician time to forgetful patients. I was recently at a CCFA Patient Symposium at which Dr. Peter Rubin (a leading NY Gastroenterologist) gave an interesting presentation on the many factors that contribute to this poor communication and what physicians and patients can do to improve their relationship. I maintain that existing and emerging technology can be leveraged to improve this communication chain.

How I Use GI Monitor

How I Use GI Monitor

Remember the old Hair Club for Men commercials? Well, I am not only the President of WellApps, I’m also a patient. ☺ So I use GI Monitor everyday. The tricky part about developing an application for patients with chronic illnesses is that symptoms vary. We do our best to make GI monitor as flexible as possible (we will have a custom symptom logger in our next release), and we will continue to monitor patient feedback for our development roadmap. As I always tell everyone, our service must serve the patients, first and foremost.

Thankful for Colitis?

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year because it incorporates the most enjoyable things in my life…all of which happen to start with an F. Family, friends, food and football. It also gives me time to reflect on how great my life really is, despite having Ulcerative Colitis. In fact, it reminds me what Ulcerative Colitis has done for me.