Johns Hopkins University has announced that as part of its Global mHealth Initiative it has started researching and analyzing current medical mobile apps. This is an impressive undertaking as Research2Guidance, a market research firm, estimated that there are over 40,000 mobile health apps on the market.
Research Overview
Johns Hopkins will conduct 49 studies. Its goals are to evaluate current health app offerings, and examine what strategies work best to assist doctors, medical professionals and consumers. The Global mHealth Initiative will compare how well the apps work against traditional methods such as clinic visits.
Alan
Labrique, director of the Johns Hopkins Global Health Initiative, acknowledged that case studies only go so far. He said people need to have the willingness to use technology
and follow advice for an app to work. In the end, patients will need to embrace technology so they better understand how to monitor and change behaviors that affect health.
Concluding Thoughts
While many apps come with disclaimers, doctors and patients will feel more secure by using apps recommended from a reputable university like Johns Hopkins. Its research will add to the legitimacy of medical mobile apps and likely help standardize best practices for developers.
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