Seeking to determine the areas that need to be focused on in the mHealth industry, the European Commission (EC) has carried out a public survey of the level of acceptance of mobile health apps.
22 per cent of those surveyed answered that it was necessary to ensure the security of their information, 17 per cent required more evidence about their effectiveness in healthcare and 16 per cent noted the need for a regulatory framework.
In addition, the European Commission asked which privacy and security issues should be addressed first. 43 per cent of participants answered that they were afraid that their information would be used by third parties; 32 per cent said that there was a need to improve the security of transmissions and information storage while 24 per cent said that informed consent should be required. None of those consulted answered that data protection wasn’t a problem.
Then, the EC analyzed to what degree the participants agreed with the statement “There are health and safety risks related to health applications that need to be resolved.” 42 per cent entirely agreed, 37 per cent said that they agreed, 15 per cent said that they disagreed and five per cent said that they completely disagreed.
Continuing with the issue of security, the Commission asked about the main problems with quality and reliability of apps. 32 per cent of those surveyed stated that there was a lack of clinical evidence, 22 per cent noted misleading claims about the purpose and function of the applications and 18 per cent signaled a lack of testing and evaluation.
To finish, the EC asked about the best way to ensure the security of these technological tools. 24 per cent called for a guide stipulating quality criteria, 22 per cent for European or international standards, 14 per cent mentioned regulation, another 14 per cent proposed a code of conduct for the industry and finally 14 per cent called for a users’ guide.
The results of this survey were discussed at a round table at eHealth Week 2015, which took place this year in Riga, Latvia.
To access the document, click here.
