App Stores Should Do More to Monitor Claims
Certain mobile apps claim to measure blood oxygen saturation levels, other developers claim their apps can gauge and record blood pressure without the use of bulky cuffs. These are high-end functions for low-cost software, and would be very impressive if worked as advertised.
Those willing to dig deep enough into the small print will find that some apps listed under the Health and Fitness section of Apple’s app store are actually for “entertainment purposes only”. Many health care professionals are now keen to stress that this isn’t fun and games and can actually be quite dangerous — self-diagnosis based on inaccurate readings could lead to bad decisions. Health care regulators are preparing for more involvement.
Some such “health” apps have become very popular, with a few are among the best-selling listed in the fitness category. User reviews indicate that some consumers actually rely on the measurements. The publishers of such recreational health care apps might not intend them to be taken so seriously, but an inexperienced subset of their audience appear to have unrealistically high expectations.
It’s surprising that Apple and Google haven’t done more to decrease any probable consumer confusion given the potentially detrimental effects this could have on the branded app stores. However, self-regulation might be less likely now as government agencies are preparing to intervene by issuing warnings to app publishers and shutting down some of the more dubious developers. Mobile health care is a moving target and regulators are working to catch up.
There are many truly useful fitness apps that make fair claims, but some of the more spurious developers are causing government scrutiny of app stores. This could slow down the market and cause some companies to stay away altogether. It’s surprising that app store owners haven’t done more to monitor their shelves but, given recent headlines about misleading claims, they should take care.
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