myHIN Blog

October 21, 2013

Telehealth & the Regulation of Mobile Applications

Could you imagine coming into the doctor’s office and getting a routine checkup with your doctor in another state? How could that be? Well with the rise in popularity with Telehealth this may possibly be a more common practice. Telehealth is the delivery of health related services and information via telecommunication technology. I’ve seen in one case a 5 foot or so mobile cart that could roll across offices with a screen on it. The Doctor was displayed on the screen and was able to communicate with the patient and other personnel in the room. It was amazing; the cart also contained an HD camera where the doctor cans accurately diagnosis the patient as if they were there. Not to mention all of this was in real time so the communication seems more natural.

This could also be applied to patients that are bedridden. Being able to see, talk, and hear your doctors from the comforts of your home that would allow patients to know that they are accurately being diagnosed. This also isn’t limited to just communication. Medical equipment can also be configured to send patient information to hospitals servers where their other personal information is stored. So imagine getting an accurate checkup from your doctor from your mobile device; pretty cool huh.

The Regulation of Mobile Applications

As consumers of technology we are all familiar with mobile applications or apps. Apps can range from entertainment all the way to media production. One area that may need more attention in this day and age is mobile medical applications. These apps are designed to provide assistant or even results to certain medical problems. Now this raises a few questions: “Are these apps begin regulated? Are they safe to use? Are they even worth trying? “

The FDA stated on Sept. 23, 2013 that they will not actively regulate low risk medical apps. They stated that apps that aren’t heavily regulated through the FDA are considered “Low risk”. Essentially if an app “transforms a mobile device into a medical device already regulated by the FDA” or can be used “as an accessory to a medical device already regulated by the FDA,” the FDA says that app will be subject to regulation.

But how many medical apps are there? Well in 2010 MobiHealthNews reported an estimate of 5,800 medical apps was available through smartphones. By June 2012 that number has risen to 40,000. Almost at the end of 2013, there’s no telling how many medical specific apps are available to us to use. Regulation is inevitable and safety will always be considered, especially when it comes to patients attempting to treat themselves.

Then there’s the side of the consumer. I personally never used an app that treated a health problem nor have I attempted to look for an app to treat a health problem. We may have the technology, but at the same time we can’t rely too much on it. Medical apps are a great step for the future, but “with great power comes great responsibility.” With more guidance and regulations, medical apps may become a standard of living.

Sources

Profitable-practice.softwareadvice.com. N.p., 8 June 2013. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
<http://profitable-practice.softwareadvice.com/
medical-apps-to-regulate-or-not-to-regulate-0713/>.

"Global Life Sciences: US-FDA Update." Sidley.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
<http://www.sidley.com/
FDA-Says-it-will-not-Actively-Regulate-Low-Risk-Mobile-Medical-Apps-10-01-2013/>.