The free WebMD Pain Coach app helps people to track chronic pain conditions and provides tips and advice.

The app was released 17 September 2012, is provided free of charge from WebMD and is available on iPhone only.

The WebMD Pain Coach allows users to conveniently document pain levels and medication usage. People can note down and track where and when they felt specific types of pain, for example, whether they felt back pain or nerve pain.

Users can also track a number of conditions, symptoms and triggers, and note down when they took the appropriate medication. Notifications can also be set to remind users to visit and update their journal.

In addition to the pain and treatment tracking, the app also contains a large library of information, quizzes and tips regarding living with chronic pain. For example, the back pain section contains articles such as ‘What is back pain?’, ‘Risk factors for back pain’ and ‘Quiz: What do you know about back pain?’

The tips sections is broken down into categories such as food, rest and mood, and provides helpful information such as how to eat to ease pain or to sleep better, or how to improve one’s mood.

WebMD Pain Coach requires free registration. 

Users are warned: “This app is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.”

Look out for clinicians' comments on the app in future editions of ehospice.