The El Camino Hospital in California launched its first mobile application, called Family Medical Officer (FMO), this week. The FMO app, which is free for Android and iOS devices, is a consumer-facing app intended for a household's family medical officer, or primary healthcare decision maker.

The FMO app's features include wait times for El Camino Hospital's emergency rooms at its Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA locations, a "find a doctor" feature where users can look up an El Camino physician by name, specialty or location, a personal health record called "My Family & Me," drug database and other hospital resources.

According to a press release, most FMOs care for and make healthcare decisions for two or more people in their family, and about half of them care for an older adult in addition to their own children. Approximately 80 percent of women are the healthcare decision makers for their families, according to the hospital. Women are also more likely to be the caregivers when a family member becomes ill.

"In keeping with El Camino Hospital's mission of delivering exceptional care, we are excited to roll out the FMO mobile app, an important tool that will provide FMOs with accurate medical information anywhere, anytime, to help them best manage the care of their loved ones," stated Tomi Ryba, president and CEO of El Camino Hospital in a press release.

Read the press release below.

PRESS RELEASE -- El Camino Hospital today announced the launch of its first mobile application, one created specifically for the Family Medical Officer™ (FMO). The FMO app, which can be downloaded for free on Android devices and on Apple iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads, provides FMOs with instant access to several valuable healthcare services and information. Instructions for downloading the FMO app are available at http://www.elcaminohospital.org/FMO.

A Family Medical Officer is the person responsible for making the majority of healthcare decisions for her or his household. Most FMOs care for and make healthcare decisions for two or more people, and about half of them care for an older adult, such as a parent, in addition to children. According to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, approximately 80 percent of women are the healthcare decision makers for their families and are more likely to be the caregivers when a family member falls ill.

"The FMO is one of the most important titles you can have, as that person is responsible for making healthcare decisions for the family," said Nurse Barb, aka Barbara Dehn, R.N., M.S., N.P., nurse practitioner at the Women's Hospital at El Camino Hospital. "As a result, FMOs need adequate knowledge and tools to satisfy their multiple roles as decision makers and consumers of healthcare."

"In keeping with El Camino Hospital's mission of delivering exceptional care, we are excited to roll out the FMO mobile app, an important tool that will provide FMOs with accurate medical information anywhere, anytime, to help them best manage the care of their loved ones," stated Tomi Ryba, president and CEO of El Camino Hospital.

The FMO app for smartphones joins a number of online and mobile resources that El Camino Hospital offers to the community including social communications through its Facebook page, Twitter and YouTube channel.

Unique Features

The FMO app's unique features include:

Emergency Response: Provides current wait times for El Camino Hospital's emergency rooms in Mountain View, California and Los Gatos, Calif. Users can dial 911 with the touch of a button, as well as view a checklist of things to bring if they require a visit to the ER.

Find a Doctor: Users can search for an El Camino Hospital physician by name, specialty or location.

My Family & Me: FMOs can keep track of their families' medical histories for diagnosis and information purposes in this password-protected tool.

El Camino Hospital Resources: Offers access to a comprehensive health library, a drug reference and a health encyclopedia.

Visiting El Camino Hospital: Provides access to turn-by-turn directions to El Camino Hospital facilities, campus maps, visiting hours and other useful information.

El Camino Hospital News and Events: This tool provides access to the most up-to-date news via El Camino Hospital's RSS feed, Facebook page, YouTube page and Twitter feed.

About El Camino Hospital

El Camino Hospital is an acute-care, 542-bed, not-for-profit and locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif. In addition to state-of-the-art emergency departments, key medical specialties include heart and vascular, cancer care, urology, orthopedic and spine, neuroscience, genomic medicine, and the only Women's Hospital in Northern California. The hospital is recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology and wireless communications, and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center as well as back-to-back ANCC Magnet Recognitions for Nursing Care.

To learn more, visit our website at www.elcaminohospital.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/elcaminohospital, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/elcaminohosp. For videos on El Camino Hospital, see www.youtube.com/elcaminohospital. For a physician referral, visit our website or call the El Camino Health Line at 800-216-5556.