PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 699, p10 - 29 Mar 2014

Health apps moving intomainstream healthcare?

Ahead of the European Union (EU) Green Paper onMobile Health,* speakers at a stakeholder meeting inLondon have stressed the importance of engagingdoctors to encourage the use of healthcare apps, reportsPharmaTimes.

Although app technology has the potential to makehealthcare more patient-centred, it appears thathealthcare professionals are poorly informed and lagbehind patients and the public when embracing theseproducts. And experts believe that patients are morelikely to use health apps if they are prescribed bydoctors.

The speakers said that current regulations for the useof health apps are inadequate, and that clarification ontheir prescription is needed. However, they also notedthat the EU does not want to produce excessive red tapewhich may discourage the development of health apps.* to be published at the end of March 2014

Taylor L. Apps "key to patient-centred healthcare," say experts. Pharma Times : 19Mar 2014. Available from: URL: http://www.pharmatimes.com 803100972

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 29 Mar 2014 No. 6991173-5503/14/0699-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2014 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved