A quick search in the Google Play store or iTunes for health-related apps throws up a seemingly endless list of tools designed to get you into shape, remind you to take your medicine, monitor your heart rate, check for skin cancer and a whole lot more.

All well and good, but wouldn’t it be great if there were some healthy apps that could do more than just appease fitness freaks and hypochondriacs? Like, for instance, an app that can actually save you money on the exorbitant fees associated with healthcare, or tell you just what the hell is wrong with you, or even something as simple as letting you access your medical records whenever you wanted?

Castlight Health

If saving money is your goal, then Castlight Health might just be the app for you. This is a tool that aims to shed some light on the whole health shopping experience, which, let’s face it, is pretty murky at the best of times.

To help consumers better explore their options, Castlight Health says that its mobile app will allow users to understand the costs and quality of any doctor or healthcare facility they’re considering using, before they go committing themselves. With the app, it’s possible to search for local dermatologists for example, and see that their prices vary from as low as $47 to as high as $440 an hour, depending on where they are and how good (they think) they are. Aside from these details, you can also find out about opening hours, doctor’s certifications and even read reviews from previous patients.

Unfortunately, for the moment at least, the app is only available through certain insurers and employers, but with any luck it (or something like it) will be available to everyone in the near future.

See the entire Healthy Big Data Series on Pinterest and Springpad!

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MyDrugCosts

Another medical app that’s easy on the wallet is MyDrugCosts, which aims to help patients reduced their prescription costs.

The app’s makers remind us that Americans spend in the region of $95 billion each year on prescription drugs, a figure that’s inflated simply because most people are uninformed about where to buy the medicines that they need.

MyDrugCosts helps to save patients money by suggesting alternative brands and pharmacies. Search for the drug Lipitor for example, and it will list all the generic brands of that drug, as well as prices and pharmacies that stock it.

Symcat

If you’re anything like me, you’ll absolutely hate going to the doctors and only ‘allow’ yourself to be dragged there when you’re nearly at death’s door. In such cases, an accurate e-diagnosis tool can come in really handy, and that’s precisely what Symcat aims to do.

The app claims to be far more sophisticated than previous self-diagnosis websites. Instead of relying on Google or out-of-date medical books like most self-diagnosis websites do, Symcat actually scans existing medical records from more than half a million people in real time, in order to calculate the frequency of diseases in relation to your symptoms. Once it’s worked out all the possible causes of your illness, Symcat uses a complex algorithm to rank them in order of likeliness.

iBlueButton

This initiative was first launched to assist military veterans, by allowing them to access their private medical records online simply by clicking a blue button on the Department of Veterans Affairs website.

iBlueButton proved to be so popular that it’s now being made available to anyone. San Diego-based Humetrix has developed iBlueButton apps for both consumers and physicians that allows them to call up their medical data anytime, anywhere, using an iPhone or iPad.

The most exciting thing about iBlueButton is that it’s not just about easier data exchange between physicians and patients. It also provides a platform for the two to communicate to each other, securely and in real time. With any luck, the convenience of the app will promote more interaction between patients and physicians, as patients will no longer have to go out of their way to visit or call anyone, whilst those physicians who can encourage their patients to use the app should find themselves with lots more time on their hands.