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The United Kingdom’s state
healthcare provider, the National Health Service (NHS), has developed a safety
screening protocol for free and paid-for apps patients can download to
smartphones, computers, and tablets to manage health conditions like HIV and
chronic diseases. Although NHS does not have any regulatory authority yet, the
organization would like to move toward a formal accreditation process in the
future.
At present, the NHS Choices Health
Apps Library includes 90 health apps that have been reviewed by an NHS team of
doctors, nurses, and information safety experts. The library provides a basic
description, list of features, and user reviews for each of the NHS-approved
apps, and links to online stores where the user may purchase the apps. Inderjit
Singh, the library’s lead technical architect, stated that NHS approval is
important because people do not know which apps to trust. Approximately 60,000
health-related apps have been developed to date, according to medical
technology innovator Rock Health.
The US Food and Drug Administration
and the European Commission also review health apps, but only if they function
as “devices by carrying out calculations based on patient data and making
treatment recommendations.” Many believe the lack of legal framework and
enforcement allows unsafe apps to fall through the cracks. For example, the US
Federal Trade Commission forced two mobile app developers to drop claims they
could cure acne with the light emitted by a cellphone. A University of
Pittsburgh study revealed apps claiming to identify cancerous moles varied from
6.8-percent to 98.1-percent accuracy.
Barriers to a health app
accreditation system include guaranteeing the safety of information collected
through the apps and deciding whether privately and government-funded health
authorities will pay for apps. Some US insurers do pay for health apps used to
manage chronic health conditions.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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