Types of Health Apps: Finding What You Actually Need

"Health app" covers a wide range of tools that serve very different purposes. Before choosing an app, it helps to understand what types exist and what each actually does.

Fitness Trackers

Purpose: Track physical activity and exercise.

What they do:

• Count steps and distance
• Monitor workouts
• Track exercise statistics
• Set and track fitness goals
• Integrate with wearable devices

Examples: Strava, Fitbit, Garmin Connect, Apple Fitness.

Best for: People focused on exercise and physical activity tracking.

General Health Aggregators

Purpose: Consolidate health data from various sources in one place.

What they do:

• Pull data from fitness devices and apps
• May include some health records
• Provide a unified dashboard
• Sync across devices and platforms

Examples: Apple Health, Google Fit, Samsung Health.

Best for: Having one place to see various health metrics.

Symptom Trackers

Purpose: Log and monitor symptoms over time.

What they do:

• Record symptom occurrence and severity
• Track patterns and triggers
• Help prepare for doctor conversations
• Some include mood or period tracking

Examples: Various specialized apps for migraines, IBS, mood, menstrual cycles.

Best for: Understanding symptom patterns, especially for chronic conditions.

Medication Managers

Purpose: Track medications and adherence.

What they do:

• List current medications
• Send reminder notifications
• Track whether you took doses
• Some check for interactions

Examples: Medisafe, various pharmacy apps.

Best for: Managing complex medication regimens.

Personal Health Record (PHR) Apps

Purpose: Store and manage your medical records.

What they do:

• Store lab results and medical documents
• Track biomarkers over time
• Help you understand your health data
• Prepare for medical appointments

Examples: Healthbase.

Best for: Consolidating medical records, understanding lab results, tracking health longitudinally.

Telehealth and Virtual Care

Purpose: Connect with healthcare providers remotely.

What they do:

• Video consultations
• Message with providers
• Sometimes prescription services
• Often integrated with a specific provider

Examples: Doctor apps, hospital telehealth services.

Best for: Remote healthcare access.

Condition-Specific Apps

Purpose: Help manage a specific health condition.

What they do:

• Track condition-relevant metrics
• Provide education about the condition
• Connect with condition-specific communities
• Sometimes integrate with devices (glucose monitors, etc.)

Examples: Diabetes management apps, cardiac monitoring apps.

Best for: People with specific chronic conditions requiring dedicated management.

Nutrition and Diet Trackers

Purpose: Monitor food intake and nutrition.

What they do:

• Log meals and food
• Track calories and macronutrients
• Analyze dietary patterns
• Some include meal planning

Examples: MyFitnessPal, Cronometer.

Best for: Weight management, understanding dietary intake.

Choosing What You Need

Different apps serve different purposes. Consider what you're actually trying to accomplish:

If you want to...	You likely need...
Track exercise	Fitness tracker
Monitor symptoms	Symptom tracker
Manage medications	Medication manager
Organize medical records	Personal health record app
Track food intake	Nutrition tracker
Manage a specific condition	Condition-specific app

Overlap and Integration

Some apps span multiple categories. And you might need more than one app to cover your needs.

Consider how apps integrate with each other. Some fitness trackers sync with general health aggregators. Some personal health record apps can incorporate symptom tracking. Some condition-specific apps include medication management.

What Healthbase Does

Healthbase is a personal health record (PHR) app focused on:

Medical records management. Consolidate lab results and medical documents from any source.

AI-powered analysis. Understand what your health data means.

Longitudinal tracking. See how biomarkers change over time.

Symptom correlation. Connect how you feel with what your labs show.

Appointment preparation. Walk into doctor visits prepared and informed.

We focus on medical records and health intelligence — the "what's happening inside your body" layer that complements fitness tracking and other health tools.

Know what you need. Choose tools that serve those needs. Don't expect a fitness tracker to organize your medical records, or a medical records app to track your runs.