The European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL) put mHealth apps in the spotlight in the newly issued report on its annual ‘Thought Leadership Debate’ held in Riga during eHealth Week in May. EHTEL brought together key speakers on the issue of mHealth and integrated healthcare under the theme of ‘Healthcare on the move: The Mobile Triangle of Health Information’.
George Crooks (President - EHTEL), Guy Eiferman (MSD), Dany Engel (Assuta), Juan Cornet (Mobile World Capital), Peteris Zilgalvis (EC) and the Latvian Health Ministry debated questions on Health apps used by international health providers and the latest policy‐related investigations of the European Commission.
“There are a whole lot of urban myths that apps developers are not to be trusted,” Crooks said. “How can people make sound decisions about which apps to use and which not?”
Panellists and audience contributed number of suggestions such as a scaling up official processes for approving and certifying particular apps and launching wide information campaigns to inform consumers of health apps.
Engel said that the issue was a budgetary one. "Without money there will be no solution," he said. He went on to say that it was essential to find the right price point for mHealth apps to make them accessible to both patients and providers.
The general view was that apps under development need to be tried and tested before reaching the market.
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mHealth, EHTEL, apps, certification
EHTEL on mHealth and apps safety
