FDI has joined with organizations representing the world’s doctors, nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists to develop the application ‘HealthyScore’. Designed to be used in collaboration with health professionals, the app will help people set targets and track progress towards agreed health goals. ‘HealthyScore’ rates behaviours according to the traffic-light code: ‘red=danger’, ‘yellow=caution’ and ‘green=go-ahead’. It provides users with customizable reminders to help them move their behaviours towards green.

HealthyScore and reminders offer support to individuals and their health professionals to establish mutually agreed goals so as to improve both lifestyle/behavioural and metabolic/biometric risk factors over time. Regular use enables individuals and health professionals to develop targeted interventions to improve health and well-being.

HealthyScore is the electronic version of the Health Improvement Card, developed as a central component of the World Health Professions Alliance WHPA noncommunicable disease campaign, launched in 2011.

The WHPA Health Improvement Card (HIC) helps individuals rate their behaviors. Behaviors in red are labeled as highly risky. Behaviors in yellow indicate caution, and those in green correspond to healthy, sustainable behaviors. The goal is to help patients gradually move their behaviors to the green area.

Acting as a scorecard the HIC keeps track of biometrics and behaviors that affect a patient's likelihood to develop a chronic illness over the long-term. Four biometric indicators and four lifestyle indicators provide a comprehensive panorama on the patient's health status. A constant use of this resource allows individuals and health professionals to develop targeted interventions to improve their health and well-being.

The four biometrics help monitor:

-Body mass index and cholesterol, to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases

-Fasting blood sugar, to help prevent diabetes

-Blood pressure, to check for hypertension

The four lifestyle indicators are shown to:

-Avoid tobacco use and harmful alcohol consumption

-Improve diet

-Undertake regular sufficient physical activity

-Achieve and maintain healthy weight

-Manage tension and stress

-Promote preventive care and screening for preventable illnesses

The Health Improvement Action plan and reminders support have been included for individuals and their health professional to establish mutually agreed goals so as to improve both lifestyle/ behavioural and metabolic/biometric risk factors over time. Overall, the HIC helps the health community pay due attention to the inextricable link between social determinants of health and the incidence of all Non Communicable Diseases-extending the scope to mental and oral health illnesses. By focusing on a holistic approach to health, WHPA goes beyond the narrow frame of corrective NCD action and promotes a sustainable change in behaviors to achieve health. WHPA hopes this initiative will strengthen the patient-doctor communication channels as well as primary healthcare systems.

To access the Healthyscore, please visit the following link:

http://www.healthyscore.org/