As the number of health-related smartphone applications continues to grow, some doctors are expressing concern about the reliability of the information provided and the impact it could have on patients, the Los Angeles Times reports.
According to a mobihealthnews review published in March, there are nearly 6,000 health-related applications for smartphone devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry and Android.
About 80% of the health applications are available through Apple, while Android has about 500 programs, the review found.
Consumers typically can download the applications at no-cost or for less than $10.
Examples of Medical Apps
Smartphone applications cover a wide range of health topics. For example, Medic ID stores patients’ emergency medical information and allows medical personnel to access the data in case of an emergency.
Another application called MedWatcher receives FDA alerts and news stories about new medications, side effects and recalls.
Growing Concerns
Despite the potential usefulness of consumer health applications, some physicians are concerned about reliability because the programs are not required to undergo a formal review process.
Some doctors also are concerned that patients will follow advice from smartphone applications rather than seek medical care.
Kevin Patrick — editor of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and a professor at the University of California-San Diego — said the medical smartphone application market “is still a very immature market,” and that many programs have not undergone clinical trials to demonstrate their efficacy (Kritz, Los Angeles Times, 7/12).
Source: iHealthBeat
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