FDA Works Toward Regulating Medical Apps

June 26, 2012 | by

In recent years, people are turning more and more to the Internet for health information and to “self-diagnose.” With an increasing variety of medical apps available for the iPhone, iPad, Android, and other mobile platforms, self-diagnosis has become even more accessible. Unfortunately, however, checking the boxes next to a variety of symptoms and waiting for a mobile device to spew forth a litany of potential ailments lacks the sensitivity and accuracy of a human diagnostician. Further, those who are not trained in medicine may misinterpret symptoms as erroneously relevant or erroneously irrelevant, leading to misdiagnosis.

Medical apps

Poll Shows More Consumers Using Social Media for Health Information

April 19, 2012 | by

A poll conducted by consulting company PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that one-third of Americans use social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to obtain information about health and wellness [1]. Respondents reported using social media resources to self-diagnose, get information about prescription drugs, and check up on doctors’ and hospitals’ reputations.

Connected via social media

Google Health Closing the Book on Health Records

June 25, 2011 | by

Google announced yesterday that it is giving up on its vision to help people access their health and wellness information online [1]. The internet search giant will discontinue Google Health at the end of the year.

Google Health

Health Literacy: Key for Managing Personal Health

January 14, 2011 | by

Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions [1]. Health literacy is important because it affects a individual’s ability to manage personal health: to navigate the healthcare system, share health history with healthcare providers, engage in self-care and manage chronic disease, and understand concepts such as probability and risk.

HON Foundation Launches New Certificate, Study on Internet Use

July 8, 2010 | by

Health On the Net (HON) Foundation, the non-profit organization that oversees the HONcode, the oldest and most widely used ethical and trustworthy code for medical- and health-related information on the Internet, recently launched a new and improved certificate for medical and health web sites [1]. The new certificate is an initiative to further enhance the HONcode certification system and to encourage health and medical information seekers to be more critical when searching for information online. It is also intended to advance the ethical use and promotion of health and medical data among online information providers.