MedConcerns
MedConcerns is a symptom-communication app created by a speech therapist and a physician for people with aphasia, motor speech disorders, dementia, and other conditions that affect communication. It guides users step by step through expressing medical concerns like pain, emotions, fatigue, and more, using simplified text, clear icons, spoken audio, and accessible response options, then summarizes every confirmed response on one screen to share with providers and caregivers. Additional tools allow users to express wants, needs, and preferences and to initiate topics for discussion. Available in English and Spanish.
Features:
- Guided, step-by-step communication of symptoms including pain, fatigue, sleep, appetite, swallowing, breathing, medication, and more
- Expanded mental health section with a visual mood scale, emotion identification, and a structured six-question screener designed for people who can’t use standard questionnaires
- Needs Board, Topic Board, and Yes/No Board for wants, needs, and everyday conversation
- Whiteboard for writing, drawing, typing, or adding custom icons and images
- Summary screen that displays every response for shared understanding and verification
- Customizable number of icons per screen, symptom choices, voice and body image options
- Built-in education pages on aphasia, apraxia, communication strategies, and mental health resources
An expanded version, MedConcerns Pro, is also available as a web app for healthcare facilities. This version was built so the entire care team can use supported conversation with patients, even without prior training.
About the Creator:
Hilary Sample, MA, CCC-SLP is a medical speech-language pathologist and the co-founder of MedConcerns. Her clinical career spans acute care and inpatient rehabilitation, where she worked daily with patients with aphasia, motor speech disorders, and other conditions affecting communication. Her experience witnessing the lack of communication supports used in healthcare led her to create MedConcerns in partnership with a physician, drawing on her clinical expertise to design the app’s communication support framework: the guided symptom interviews, aphasia-friendly supports, and structured response formats.
