7 TOP-RATED AND APPROVED FDA HEALTH APPS
Introduction
With the ever-increasing count of health apps, consumers may have ways to self-manage and enhance their health and wellness. This explosive growth also raises some critical issues about the safety and quality of these applications. Lack of regulation over many applications can result in an unwise use of the apps or ineffective health maintenance. As users increasingly use these applications as one of the sources to make fundamental health choices, dependability becomes increasingly essential.
The Role of the FDA
In America, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) manages all medical products to ensure their safety and efficiency, a mandate critical to the American healthcare system. Such agencies’ concern over health apps can be attributed to different health applications, including wellness ones, which increase health- and medical ones, which treat and assess health. As some of those applications are intended to impact patient care significantly, such as monitoring the heart rate and the administration of drugs, the FDA plans to lay down rules regarding their application.
FDA’s Regulatory Plans
To alleviate these concerns, the FDA seeks to balance encouraging innovation and protecting patients. The agency intends to closely examine apps that assist with diagnosing life-threatening illnesses or monitoring essential health variables, such as blood oxygen concentration levels. Currently, the FDA evaluates about 20 apps annually in the same manner it would something like a food additive. The FDA is looking forward to increasing its scope to monitor the application of technologies as the mobile health ecosystem continues to progress to enhance the quality of patient care and promote the creation of safe health platforms.
In this regard, it is excellent to determine which health application approved by the FDA is available for consumers who wish to proactively and reasonably take care of their health.
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Mobile MIM
The first medical app on the iTunes store, Mobile MIM, allows healthcare professionals to share radiation oncology, radiology, nuclear medicine, neuroimaging, and cardiac imaging images. It also eliminates delays in image distribution by sharing them with patients and referring physicians and partner institutions.
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Alive Cor
Alive Cor is an electrocardiogram device which attaches to the back of a smartphone. The user can press the device against the skin near the heart to obtain cardiology measurements. Due to its mobility and potential for earlier detection of abnormal heart rhythms, it is a highly anticipated device.
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Diabetes Manager by Well Doc
The device can collect blood glucose data and transmit it in real-time. This system is implemented and receives the information to provide the appropriate coach to the patients based on their medications and treatments. On that note, it pinpoints the aspects where the users require the utmost assistance, enhancing communication between the healthcare personnel and the user.
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Welch Allyn’s examiner Adapter and Ophthalmoscope
The I Examiner application by Welch Allyn and Ophthalmoscope is specifically designed to help identify diseases such as glaucoma and retinal detachment. This instrument can easily be connected to different types of smartphones available today. These pictures may be stored in one’s patient file, sent via email, or printed out using an accompanying examiner app.
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Gauss Pixel App
This application is meant for physicians and nurses who want to accurately measure the amount of blood lost during surgeries. After taking a picture of surgical sponges used during a procedure with either an iPad or iPhone, the app computes the amount of blood loss in real time.
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Airstrip ONE
Airstrip ONE is a diagnostic support that integrates data from various medical gadgets, electronic medical records, and patient monitors into one window on an iPhone or iPad. This app provides vital signs, allergies, medications, medical images, and lab results generated by the medical devices.
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Resolution MD
This software tool gives instant access to mobile phone diagnostic radiology images and reports. The application pulls data from several imaging modalities onto off-site servers for fast visualization on a smartphone or tablet. Since most processing is done outside the mobile device, no identifiable patient information appears to be transmitted, which is an inherently safe process.
Conclusion
Given the growth of the health sector and the importance of FDA regulations, it is essential to distinguish between wellness and health apps. Some applications aim to improve overall health, while others diagnose diseases and monitor treatment progress. The role played by the FDA is central in ensuring that medical software is safe and effective, particularly in critical care factors such as blood oxygen levels and drug delivery. Nevertheless, step trackers or medication management apps do not fall within the FDA’s purview. Yet, getting FDA-approved health apps remains pivotal in maintaining patient safety and encouraging advancement in the healthcare industry, even though only a few apps are reviewed yearly.
