Xcertia Previews Guidelines for Evaluation of Mobile Health Applications

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DHX Group/Xcertia

Dec 14, 2017, 08:50 ET


AUSTIN, Texas (PRWEB) December 14, 2017 -- Xcertia took a significant step today toward its goal of developing industry guidelines for safe and effective mobile health applications (apps) by releasing a preliminary version of its anticipated guidelines for broad public review and comment.

“One year since Xcertia announced its formation, the collaboration is releasing initial mobile health apps guidelines as a starting point to build on,” said Michael Hodgkins, M.D., chair of the Xcertia Board of Directors. “Cooperative input on the guidelines from consumers, developers, payers, clinicians, academia and other motivated stakeholders will provide Xcertia with guidance on where it needs to focus its efforts in 2018 to positively impact the trajectory of the mobile health app industry.”

Xcertia guidelines are available at http://www.xcertia.org. Xcertia will solicit public comments on the guideline content through the end of January. Comments can be submitted through the website.

The early version of the guidelines assesses the quality, safety and effectiveness of mobile health apps in four key areas:

  • Operability – to assess whether a mobile health app installs, loads, and runs in a manner that provides a reasonable user experience.
  • Privacy - to assess whether a mobile health app protects the user’s information, including Protected Health Information in full compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
  • Security – to assess if the application is protected from external threats.
  • Content – to assess whether the information provided in the mobile health app is current and accurate.

The guidelines are backed by Xcertia’s growing collaboration of 30+ members, including its founders, the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association (AMA), the DHX Group, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The collaboration’s shared purpose is to provide a level of assurance to physicians, clinicians, and consumers that mobile health apps that comply with Xcertia’s guidelines will deliver value to the end user.

The Xcertia guidelines will be updated annually by designated work groups drawn from Xcertia’s membership. Upon completion of each update, the guidelines will be made available to the public.

Xcertia is committed to broad representation from consumers, developers, payers, clinicians, academia and others with an interest in the development of guidelines for mobile health apps. To join the diverse and expanding list of member organizations, visit xcertia.org for more details.

About Xcertia:
Xcertia is a joint mHealth app collaborative effort pioneered by the American Medical Association (AMA), American Heart Association (AHA), DHX Group and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The collaboration builds on each organization’s ongoing efforts to foster safe, effective, and reputable health technologies. Our combined expertise, along with a diverse membership, will leverage the insights of clinicians, patients, government agencies and industry experts to help improve patient care. For more information, please visit us at xcertia.org.

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Jennifer Hall, DHX Group/Xcertia, http://www.dhxgroup.org, +1 (702) 300-5567, [email protected]