Just installed and tested the Windows version of GooPatient Family 3.2.0.1 . Here’s my brief review and comments for consideration.

FWIW, the database contents are not encrypted. Wordpad happily opens the “.sqlite” file, and all contents are in clear text. Being an iPhone use, lack of a usable app cripples the product for me, too. Reviewing the screens and web site, I bumped into unsettling spelling errors, like “..maintaine personal…” on the web site, and “Healt” when trying to print a sample medication list. Lack of table-supported data entry is tedious and error prone. e.g., I have to type out ibuprofen, and, worse, the user can type ibuprophen or ibopropen without any objection.

Even if the designer didn’t want to pre-supply all of the likely medications, he/she could have master tables the user could manage for common items like medications, dosage, etc. Dose, too, should be subdivided into qty, like 10mg or 10ml, frequency (1/day, 3/day, with meals, PRN), and there should be a simple way to manage likely/acceptable units of measure (ml vs mg) and frequency.

Some features must solely be available in the Android app, like storing pictures, medical images, or documenting pain. What’s that about? Is functionality mostly dependent on an app that I cannot access because I use an iPhone???

The user interface and database design and implementation would not pass muster in the most basic undergraduate database course, so one wonders at the developer’s background. Honestly, this looks like a high school Hackathon idea that is being developed on a volunteer basis.

This application seems neither better nor worse than using, say, Excel. With Excel you can set up field look-ups and drop-downs, and you can output data into flexible formats for future use. At least Excel allows encrypting the file, and is no less inconvenient to access from a cloud using a number of compatible apps.

The inability to export AND import reports in convertible formats like CSV, or using standards like HL7 FHIR is another missed opportunity. If GooPatient comes to a dead end, and you want to move your data to another place, it looks like you are stuck re-entering all of the data or trying to scrape the data from a PDF printout.

Overall, the GooPatient concept seems just “OK,” and is not a professional-grade product. At least not yet. If the developer is capable, then a clear roadmap to add useful and necessary enhancements could help this product “grow up.”

Wish them luck.