UK’s Best SME Mobile Health APP Finals on Monday 2nd February

January 30, 2015 | by

The shortlist judging for the above, entries for which we sought in December, will take place on the afternoon of Monday 2nd February from 2pm to 7pm in St Bride, St London. Attendance is free, and offers an unparalleled opportunity to listen to the pitches of what are considered the twelve best SME mobile health apps in the UK. Details are here – do be sure to scroll down to click the ‘book now’ button as places are limited.

The judges (disclosure: of whom this editor is one) will select those SMEs to go forward to the finals at the MWC in Barcelona in the first week in March.

The event is sponsored by UK Trade & Investment, techUK, and PatientView/myhealthapps

Health apps presently of little use, says Australian telehealth expert

October 23, 2014 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Margelis.jpg” thumb_width=”120″ /]”Immature” and “focused on low-lying fruit such as fitness tracking and not focused on the big issues of management of disease” are also two of the compliments that Dr George Margelis of the University of Western Sydney’s TeleHealth Research & Innovation Laboratory (THRIL) has bestowed on the current state of health apps. Until the collected data ‘plugs into other digital platforms’–he mentions the Australian government’s PHR, eHealth–apps will not help those who need it the most. “Unfortunately, managing these diseases, in particular the chronic diseases that are a major part of the current burden, requires more than just tracking a few physical parameters which is what the app world is up to.” Dr Margelis called for collaboration between app developers and healthcare professionals; while he scores Apple’s HealthKit, that may be the means to make his vision come true. It should be noted that Dr Margelis (more…)

Insomnia Apps: A replacement for sleeping pills?

May 2, 2014 | by

sleepstation

For those of us suffering from insomnia there’s no denying it can be a real pain! For some it means wakening up a number of times throughout the night, while others are unable to get back to sleep after only a few hours rest. In my case it means drifting off into a peaceful slumber before inevitably waking just minutes later with a jolt, looking like Frankenstein’s monster and wondering if someone just hit me up the face with a bolt of lightning!

The latest NHS approved sleep app is Sleepstation. It’s one of three listed on the NHS Choices Health Apps website, the others are Sleepio and Sleep Diary. (more…)

A ‘disruptive’ US primary care delivery app with UK roots

April 7, 2014 | by

This past week, this Editor spoke with Jason Hwang, MD, one of the three co-authors of The Innovator’s Prescription and noted here recently [TTA 31 Mar]. Since leaving the executive director spot at Innosight Institute (now The Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation), he and a team have been developing a smartphone app, PolkaDoc, that may bring a little disruptive innovation to simple primary care. The intent is to make remote primary care for basic needs far more accessible to the general public 24/7, helping to alleviate the shortage (and workload) of US primary care physicians (GPs). The individual first installs the free app from Google Play or Apple’s App Store, answers a simple questionnaire, records a short video to confirm name and date of birth as a verifier/signature, and pays the exam fee via debit or credit card. A doctor then evaluates and prescribes, if appropriate, with prescription pickup at your local pharmacy. According to Dr. Hwang, the first use of this app will be for birth control, charging a modest $10 exam fee, exclusive of the prescription. Technically, the 24/7 coverage is achieved via asynchronous store and forward, which enables significant scalability; any participating physician may ‘see’ thousands of patients a day if desired. The app is fully HIPAA-compliant and on US-based secure servers. The ‘soft’ launch of the PolkaDoc service will start in about two to three weeks.

For our UK readers, this may sound like a variation on something familiar. The ur-model is ‘DrThom‘ acquired by Lloyds Pharmacy in 2011. The eponymous service was developed by one of the partners of PolkaDoc, UK-based OB/GYN Dr. Thom Van Every, to provide sexual health services first by mail and later online. In the UK, this was a premium service at £50. According to Dr. Hwang, the objective is to adapt for the US what has been successfully done in the UK, Australia and other countries, learning from the lessons of its predecessors. With the idea that “simple things are taken care of as simply as possible”, it also matches that concept with low price to be affordable for nearly all women.

My discussion with Dr. Hwang also ranged on the app’s potential use in other healthcare areas and plausible partnerships. More to come on this, certainly.

Attitudes and behaviours of apps users

March 6, 2014 | by

Health apps are often in the news these days. Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator, commissioned Kantar Media to carry out qualitative research on attitudes and behaviours of apps users when using devices such as smart phones and tablets. The resulting report, Apps Environment, published today by Ofcom makes interesting reading.

Although the report was commissioned by the UK regulator, I think the findings are applicable to any country. What’s more, the generic nature of the conclusions make them relevant to health apps as much as to any others.

The report says that “among app users, several perceptions were found to be influencing behaviours, attitudes and the low level of concern in the app environment. These perceptions were:
• official app stores monitor and vet the apps they make available;
• well-known brands provide a safe, secure and reliable user experience, and;
• apps are safer than browsers due to their more limited and contained nature compared to browser-based internet use.”

Another finding was that many app users said they paid very little attention to permissions requested by apps – nothing new there then. How many times have you ticked that “I Agree” box to the terms and conditions without reading them?

Very few participants in the research are reported to have raised spontaneous concerns about apps. The researchers say that when prompted, in-app purchasing and advertising were of greatest concern to parents, and at most, a frustration or annoyance to others.

This shows that when it comes to more critical apps such as health apps or those that are designed to provide a safety net in a care environment a stronger regulation may be needed as well as a pro-active educational effort to emphasise the need to be aware of issues such as data privacy.

Certifying health apps: is it at all possible?

January 9, 2014 | by

This article in iMedicalApps takes a look back at the controversy that swirled around Happtique only four weeks ago–when Harold Smith III of Monckton Health and Fixmo went public on major data security flaws in two of their 19 certified apps–and moreover how Happtique did not respond to his concerns either in December or on the process in March [TTA 13 Dec]. It was the talk of the last big US gathering prior to International CES, the mHealth Summit.

Unfortunately, Satish Misra, MD, one of their editors, provides an argument best described as a ‘circular firing squad.’ Dr. Misra is absolutely correct on the enormity of curating and certifying tens of health/medical apps. But the point of the article seems to be that any kind of evaluation mechanism or certification is a fool’s errand.

The logic presented as this Editor interprets the article: Since Happtique’s certification process had standards which were complicated and arbitrary (plus, as it turned out, flawed), it proves that it’s useless to pursue standards and certification. In addition to being ‘resource intensive’ for reviewing tens of thousands of apps, standards cannot decide what app is the right choice, even if that was not the intent of the certification. So doctors and ‘end users’ have to become ‘app-literate’; hang the fact that the point of curation and certification is to do at least some of the heavy lifting (pre-screening) job for them beforehand! Back to the start: reading all the peer review stuff on thousands of medical apps, if it’s reviewed at all, as iMedicalApps does for some. (And will these reviews be 100% accurate? Will they subject every app to data security screening? What are their standards?) Back to Square One: DIY and Dodge City. Apps present too much (unpaid) work for docs to think about, patients use (then abandon) apps that can be privacy risks, because they don’t know any better and they aren’t white-hat hackers after all….

Remaining unconsidered by iMedicalApps is the plausibility of what Master Data Cruncher IMS Health is taking on with AppScript and AppNucleus [TTA 15 Dec]: a proprietary 25-point methodology (AppScore) that automates the classification and evaluation of health apps plus a hosting platform that uses IMS information to assist developers in creating secure, effective apps.

A far more detailed exploration of why at the very least an objective certification/evaluation process is needed is explored by Editor Charles in his continuing series Driving Up Medical App Usage in the UK, especially Part II (Part I here.) Watch for Part III shortly.

Is the ‘last mile’ of app certification efficacy metrics?

December 15, 2013 | by

News and announcements around app certification definitely were hot topics in the past week or so, but are they more heat than light? Do these certifications adequately address efficacy? Stephanie Baum, in her follow-up to the Happtique kerfuffle in MedCityNews, opens up the discussion with the proposition: “It seems like there needs to be some way to prove that apps actually help people.” Bradley Merrill Thompson of Epstein Becker & Green points out “It’s certainly useful to know that an app works from a software perspective reliably, but it is even more valuable to know that the app can actually improve health.” While Happtique certification standards have a gap here, this Editor would point out that they were evolved nearly two years ago when the reporting/analysis needed for this was largely not available. Newer programs such as Johns Hopkins’ mHealth Evidence and the new IMS Health AppScript [TTA 15 Dec] can dip into the ‘big data’ pool far more effectively. Will Happtique be able to address this, or leave the ‘last mile’ to others? And what is the real and quantifiable demand for app certification anyway? Health app prescribing by physicians is a question mark in this Editor’s observation; the larger market may be health plans and programs such as Partners HealthCare’s Wellocracy, Cigna’s GoYou  and Aetna’s CarePass.

IMS Health enters health app ranking, prescribing

December 15, 2013 | by

Global healthcare informatics provider IMS Health during mHealth Summit announced its entry into mHealth prescribing and evaluation with AppScript. They also are getting into the development standards business with AppNucleus, a hosting platform that from the description, will guide developers in designing secure, HIPAA and HITECH Act compliant apps using IMS Health information and data analytics. AppScript uses a proprietary methodology called AppScore to classify and evaluate apps based on functionality, peer and patient reviews, certifications, and their potential to improve outcomes and lower the cost of care. According to Information Week Healthcare, AppScore includes 25 criteria developed by IMS and its physician advisors (more…)

Happtique halts app certification on data security concerns

December 13, 2013 | by | 1 Comment

Health app industry self-policing and ‘trusted sourcing’ credibility at stake?

Updated below. Last week, after Happtique announced its ‘Inaugural Class’ of 19 certified apps [TTA 2 Dec]–certified on their standards of operability, privacy, security and content–a young HIT software developer, Harold Smith III, discovered some major security flaws in two of them: MyNetDiary’s Diabetes Tracker and TactioHealth5. User names and passwords were stored in plain text files–not encrypted–and Mr. Smith then subjected them to a ‘man in the middle attack’ (MITM) which he explains as “…where a nefarious source intercepts your communication from the App to the server. They decrypt the SSL connection, pull out your data, and send the data on to the server.” Both failed. Worse, the ePHI (ePersonal Health Information) of both were not sent in a secured way and not stored in secure, encrypted files. After advising both companies of the problems (including one of these companies in person at the mHealth Summit), as well as Happtique, and receiving no satisfactory response after days passed, Mr. Smith went public Tuesday and Wednesday on his blog mHealth and Mobile Development. Both articles deserve careful reading. Our readers with software development background will appreciate 1) his meticulousness and 2) his ire not only at Happtique but their validator, Intertek, at the poor technical quality of their vetting; the non-techies like your Editor will appreciate the clarity of his writing.

Small blog, big impact today. Happtique has suspended its certification program (website notice) and on its website now has revised certification standards. Regarding the credibility of Mr. Smith, (more…)

Happtique certifies 19 health apps

December 2, 2013 | by

Happtique, which started in 2011 as a health app certifier and curator, then ‘pivoted’ to what they term a “virtual marketplace and distribution platform” (?) after a major management change this spring, has mystifyingly announced the ‘Inaugural Class of 2013’ of 19 certified health apps. These presumably passed certification guidelines finalized in September 2012. But the bare list of apps and links leads this Editor to more questions. Is this meant for the clinical market as part of their mRx program? Consumer market? And how will they find out? While the apps range from the obscure (Amazing Abs) to the expected (MyNetDiary’s Diabetes Tracker) to the well-known from major names (GreatCall’s UrgentCare, which counts as two on the list), it’s hard not to feel a certain sense of underwhelm at this news: 19 out of nearly 30,000 counted by iMedical Apps [TTA 23 July] and even against the 200 listed in MyHealthApps [TTA 26 Nov]. MedCityNews’ light and oddly edited article only adds to the mystery. And Mobihealthnews reveals that the 10 companies listed paid for certification of their apps, which is not surprising, but if more than a nominal amount (application fee) very well takes away from the impression of objective certification. 

Ed. Note: Over the past three days this Editor has contacted Happtique to confirm the application fee and to generally comment on the program. As of this writing (Thursday 8:30pm NY time), no reply has been received. However, a FierceMobileHealthcare interview with then-CEO Ben Chodor gave a range of $2500-3000 to certify an app for two years, with a 30 day turnaround time.

Launches: MyHealthApps directory, mobile mental health app in Cambridgeshire

November 26, 2013 | by

MyHealthApps launches; Sun Network launches Crisis Card app for Cambridgeshire residents

Last year at this time, the PatientView patient research firm published The European Directory of Health Apps 2012-2013 with about 200 entries. Alex Wyke from PatientView has been kind enough to follow up and let us know as a comment on the original article [TTA 15 Nov 2012] that it has been expanded and relaunched as MyHealthApps. The site has grown to 307 apps selected by over 450 patient groups and with ‘heart’ ratings on a five-point system. While not comprehensive yet, notably it is now a truly international website with mirror sites in 48 languages from Albanian to Welsh, including four varieties of English (!) There are also submission links for patient groups and developers. PatientView developed this with support from: GSK, Janssen, Novo Nordisk, O2/Telefonica Europe, Vodafone Foundation, NHS England’s Library of Health Apps, UK government body KTN CONNECT and the European Commission’s Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT). The patient group review and backing (more…)

The lack of evidence in health IT and patient engagement

November 8, 2013 | by

In health economist/consultant Jane Sarasohn-Kahn’s lengthy analysis of the IMS Research report, Patient Apps for Improved Healthcare: From Novelty to Mainstream, ‘mainstream’ does not necessarily mean that apps deliver value–in health outcomes, health support or behavior change–which is why doctors have largely ignored them. For the 43,000+ ‘health apps’ so categorized in the Apple iTunes store, only 23,000 met IMS’ criteria of a ‘genuine health app.’ Few apps manage chronic disease for the highest health spenders or assist seniors, amazingly 5 apps =15 percent of all downloads with most apps having less than 500 downloads. Most apps provide information only and only 20 percent capture/track user data. Not dissimilar to the Manhattan Research smartphone study [TTA 30 Oct], the bulk of apps address behavioral health, eyes and hearing, endocrine and nutrition, heart/circulatory, musculoskeletal, and cancer. In IMS’ view, (more…)

KeepUs–smartphone-based senior activity monitoring and telecare

October 4, 2013 | by

KeepUs is a new, free app developed in the UK that when installed on an older person’s or a child’s Android smartphone, allows a family member to monitor that person’s both indoor and outdoor activity. Using geolocation, the family member can see that person’s visits (locations can be labeled), level of activity on any given day, alerts (being idle for too long), how much time was spent at each named location over the past two weeks (if Uncle Ted is spending three hours every day at the pub), and trends over two months. It requires no action from the person being tracked other than to carry the smartphone (certainly less obtrusive than a bulky non-removable watch). The family member/carer installs the app on both phones and controls permissions to view the other person’s activity. The app is in beta, free for individual use in the UK. (more…)

Two health app directories/curation sites debut, contrastingly

October 4, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CignaGOYOU_Judging_720x426.jpg” thumb_width=”175″ /]Health app curation and directory listing is becoming a popular space with Cigna’s GoYou Marketplace, launched at Health 2.0 this week, and start-up MobileHealthMarketplace.com. Cigna’s move is clearly designed to counter Aetna’s CarePass, which is a more broadly centered consumer platform [TTA 12 July]. GoYou will include not only health monitoring/wellness apps but also lifestyle/money management with a strong social (rating/sharing) overlay. Developed with SocialWellth, the latter’s Las Vegas location must account for the blindingly bright, about-as-far-as-you-can-get-from-insurance graphics (despite the Cigna logo), to the point where the approach becomes New Age kitschy: “We want to inspire you to be  (more…)

The ‘Wild West’ of 40,000 mobile apps

June 21, 2013 | by

Following up on our 11 June article that took a stern, fingerwagging view of these 40,000 unvetted apps out there on the prairie, MedCityNews looks at them and finds good news. Healthy lifestyle helper apps plus a health coach can produce positive results–and we’ve covered those like AliveCor and WellDoc which turn a smartphone into a medical device and are regulated by the FDA. The problem remains that there’s no vetting of apps of either type to confirm for the user that they are effective. Happtique is still cited as a app curator for consumers and doctors, when by all reports they have changed direction [TTA 17 May]. 40,000 health-related apps and no easy way to know which ones work

And while we are on the subject of FDA, now they are dealing with the strong possibility of cyberattacks on the data and systems of the very medical devices they are regulating. In a 13 June communication to manufacturers and providers, “Many medical devices contain configurable embedded computer systems that can be vulnerable to cybersecurity breaches”–the introduction of malware or unauthorized access to configuration settings–made worse by internet, mobile access and the infamous cloud. Government Health IT

Management, direction changes at app certifier Happtique

May 17, 2013 | by

When an entrepreneurial venture, nurtured by a large parent, ‘goes sideways.’

Management and directional changes at Happtique, a subsidiary of the Greater NY Hospital Association (GNYHA), have rocked the still rather insular, and small scale, New York health tech world. Background talk has been in the air for some months. Reading through the exclusive report from Brian Dolan at Mobihealthnews, followed by GNYHA Ventures’ statement, plus your Editor in NYC, several shoes have officially dropped.

  • Well-known co-founder Ben Chodor is no longer CEO, but according to GNYHA remains with the company as co-founder, focused on strategic growth as well as an outside evangelist of sorts. He will continue to host the mHealthZone on BlogTalkRadio and will be at the WLSA Convergence Summit on 29-30 May. Also already departed is Chodor’s leadership team.  (more…)