Mobile Health Apps Target High-Need, High-Cost Populations, But Gaps Remain

Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) have potential to help high-need, high-cost consumers manage their health, but gaps remain. Most apps failed to respond appropriately when a user entered potentially dangerous health information. However, health care professionals and provider organizations lack a clear strategy for how they should evaluate and recommend mHealth apps to consumers. Medical professional societies, insurers, and policy makers have largely avoided formally recommending apps. As a result, consumers obtain recommendations from other sources; however, consumer ratings are a poor indicator of an app’s clinical usefulness or usability.

These findings were reported in “Many Mobile . . .