health app market estimated to be work $700M in 2012, doubling by end of 2013
52% of smartphone owners have used their device to gather health information
19% have at least one health app on their phone
safety-net populations have better-than-expected access to mobile devices and are more likely to use their phones to access health information
chronic disease (diabetes and asthma) management apps are often extensions of proven interventions that yield clinical benefits and/or financial savings
User’s (particularly older users) most popular features: diagnoses, monitoring BP, BSLs
User’s least popular features: medication and exercise reminders
Providing feedback on progress supports sustained use
30 – 60% of melanomas screened via a teledermatology app were diagnosed as benign!!!!
Asthmapolis is an asthma app that is fully integrated with the rescue inhaler to indicate where and when the inhaler is used, correlate that with weather etc.
FDA differentiates between lifestyle apps and apps which send data to clinicians – the latter are considered medical devices and will be regulated.