Sep 7, 2017In Real Time
Keeping track of student-athletes’ health could become a lot easier with the help of an app. After being introduced about two years ago, the app called Healthy Roster is now being used by athletic trainers in 26 states.
Healthy Roster brings injury information to all involved parties instantly. This includes medical teams, coaches, and parents.
“What sport they’re playing, what time of day is it, was it at practice or during a game, was it on grass or turf, was it raining or was it dry,” James Voos, MD, Head Team Physician for the Cleveland Browns, Division Chief of Sports Medicine at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Associate Professor of Orthopaedics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and Medical Director at the Sports Medicine Institute run by University Hospitals, told Cleveland’s WKYC-3.
“It provides great data for safety and research and advancing our mission of not just taking care of the athletes, but also making those policy changes to help every athlete play in a safer environment,” Dr. Voos continued.
If a student-athlete’s parent has downloaded the app, they will be notified instantly if an injury is sustained during practices or games. Through the app, athletic trainers can update each detail of the injury, allowing parents to call or text them right away to find out about treatment and recovery.
“We don’t have to wait and track injuries when we get back into our office or with paper and pencil we can just track it right here,” said Sarah Royan, MS, ATC, CSCS, Head Athletic Trainer at the Hawken School in Cleveland.
For Royan’s athletes at the Hawken School, the app will also provide access to advanced technology. Due to the nature of the information that is being stored, MCPc, a secure technology logistics company in Cleveland, provided iPads for Royan to use the app on, along with storing and protecting the data that is collected.
“Not only does it provide the student a kind of a biological passport so that down the road they know that they’ve improved and recovered… they can see their peer group and how well they have or haven’t recovered, and then adapt training to help them or aid them in their recovery, so theoretically we should be able to produce better, safer athletes,” said Andy Jones, MS, CEO of MCPc.
