Myhealthapps international site launched

An international health apps website has been launched, with apps recommended by patient groups and consumers.

The myhealthapps.net site was created by the UK-based research, publishing and consultancy group PatientView in partnership with several other organisations, including O2 and Vodafone.

In a statement on the launch, it said NHS England has also encouraged the development of the site, which brings together apps from around the world.

The apps have been selected by 456 patient groups, disability groups or consumers, and cover 42 languages.

“The apps on the site have been allocated ‘heart’ ratings, according to the extent to which they display five features that a survey by PatientView found to matter to users in 2013.

The survey found that respondents wanted apps to: give people more control over their condition; be easy to use; be suitable for regular use; enable networking with others in similar situations; and be trustworthy.

The site also lists the developers, funders and medical advisers behind each app. At launch, the site had 307 apps, covering 146 health specialties.

They ranged from simple exercise apps to apps on how to manage a particular disease or medical condition. PatientView expects the library to expand by several hundred new apps every six months.

Last summer, the US Food and Drug Administration issued its final guidance on regulating health apps in the US, and in November NHS England announced it is working with the FDA to create a bilateral framework for mobile app regulation.

However, the founders of myhealthapps.net say that although regulators have begun looking at improving the standards of health apps, the focus is on apps that are directed at doctors and other health professionals.

“Tens of thousands of health apps slip outside this new regulatory sphere. What of their standards- their relevance to consumers, patients and the public,” said a spokesperson.

“This is why the myhealthapps.net website was developed- as a patient/-consumer-centric approach to help bring health apps into mainstream healthcare.”

In March last year, NHS England launched its health apps library, which aims to do much the same. The library now includes around 150 apps that have all been vetted by clinical safety engineers as “trusted apps”.