Mobile applications are popping up at an unbelievable rate these days and you can really find an app for anything. Promising medical apps have recently found the attention of the FDA as developers look to create a “mobile” doctor with their apps. Apps that might monitor or help to diagnose an issue within the human body would be quite popular, but would also have to be regulated and approved by the FDA. Right now there are limited mobile apps in this category, but as popularity grows, the health care coverage gets worse, more users might be willing to check out a mobile app in hopes of getting help before spending money at the doctor. Think WebMD for your iPhone.
Some wonder if having the FDA involved is a good thing, but how else could you have a medical mobile application without it? Picture someone thinks they are dying and the mobile app finds nothing wrong with them? Who is responsible and if you have to “check the box” to continue, what is the point of even having the app? The FDA has drawn up some guidelines and is taking a close look at some of the apps that exist, but the FDA said they are not planning on checking into all health apps. The FDA is really only interested in those apps that could cause more harm than good.
FDA paperwork regarding the apps says, “At this time, the FDA intends to apply its regulatory requirements solely to a subset of mobile apps that it is calling mobile medical applications or ‘mobile medical apps.” Two of the more popular apps for the iPhone are one that monitors the user’s glucose levels and one that can check a user’s blood pressure. Some apps would likely take a reading of blood pressure, track results throughout the day and even send the information to a doctor to keep track of. Some apps just take user entered data and help them track it.
Those apps were already in the App Store when the iPhone 3.0 OS launched. Everyone knows what happens when a government agency steps in to keep an eye on things, so this could be a story to watch over the next year or so. Developers are chomping at the bit to create, and sell, mobile medical apps, but with the FDA keeping an eye on things, developers might take to it slowly.
