‘Not all health apps are created equal’

‘Get the app’ has become a ubiquitous 21st-century phrase, as more information moves online.
 
Health apps have become a major app market player, offering everything from sleep monitors and step counters to support for managing menopause, chronic pain, anxiety and more.
 
However, as most health apps are simply information sources, or tools to help promote healthier lifestyles, they are not considered medical devices and are therefore not regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
 
To that end the RACGP has updated its ‘Recommending health apps’ resource for GPs.
 
First published in 2017, and only having minor updates since, its latest iteration now includes an extensive list of considerations when recommending health apps.
 
Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – Practice and Technology Management, Dr Rob Hosking, told newsGP the change was prompted by the committee’s recognition that the health apps landscape has changed significantly since 2017.
 
‘More patients are asking their GP about health apps and more GPs are integrating them into their care,’ he said.
 
‘Just as we would any medication or treatment plan, we need to understand the benefits and risks of tools like these, as well as their usability, before making a recommendation to our patients.’
 
At present, the RACGP does not review or endorse particular health apps, although the resource does include a link to a list of health and wellbeing apps compiled by Healthdirect.
 
‘Not all apps are created equal,’ cautions the resource. ‘GPs should only recommend apps that are demonstrably safe and appropriate for patient use.’ 
 
The resource highlights specific questions for GPs to consider when exploring an app, determining its usefulness and appropriateness for individual patients.
 
Dr Hosking said an app that does not collect sensitive data, that provides information from a trusted, evidence-based source ‘may not require onerous review’ by a GP.
 
‘However, I’d really want to know if an app that I recommended, which provided personalised advice based on patient inputs, was evidence based (including what guidelines inform it) and that my patient’s data was safe,’ he said.
 
‘So, I would interrogate an app like that more extensively.’
 
Dr Hosking recommends GPs pilot any app before recommending it to a patient, to assess its features, functionality, usability, individual relevance and content accuracy.
 
‘Healthdirect’s website lists health apps and online programs from their trusted information partners, however, I would still encourage my colleagues to make their own judgment on specific apps,’ he said.
 
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