Buyer beware? Health apps vary in capabilities, usability

With the enormous number of apps promising better health or improved eating habits, how are physicians evaluating these options? What guidelines do they have in recommending apps to patients?

Karandeep Singh, an assistant professor of learning health sciences and of medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, led a team of researchers in an attempt to identify a strategy for physicians to evaluate and recommend apps to patients. Without being directly involved with developing an app, physicians risk taking a backseat to the “doctor” within the patient’s smartphone.

The study analyzed 137 mobile health (mHealth) apps aimed at helping individuals manage their health. These apps were rated helpful by users and recommended by experts in assisting high-need, high-cost patients.

Results showed, while there is a wide variety of applications, only a few were actually able to assist patients in most need. Top performing apps were focused helping patients deal with conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity.  Researchers found that user ratings did not properly indicate the usefulness of apps in clinical settings. A large subset of apps had low usability scores and often had difficulty handling dangerous health information submitted by users.

“We believe that the results we present suggest that the marketplace of mHealth apps targeting high-need, high-cost populations is maturing and is diverse enough that medical professional societies and patient advocacy groups should give serious thought to how apps may be used to benefit specific patients,” wrote Karandeep and colleagues. “Still, there are many gaps in the apps and substantial room for improving them. Consumer app ratings represent a good place to start for identifying high-quality apps, but such ratings should be supported by clinician and patient input on clinical utility and usability."

The healthcare industry can do more, though, to help individuals find the best apps.

"While the app industry needs to do further work to meet basic safety and privacy standards, a subset of apps already conform to these standards," Karandeep et al. wrote. "Policy makers need to consider how to encourage app developers to build apps that respond appropriately to dangerous information entered by users.”