Chilmark Research's John Moore set about reading the tea leaves on 2010 a few weeks into this already busy year, and came up with a list of top ten trends to for healthcare IT. Smartphone medical and health apps made it onto the trend list at number five:
"Second Gen mHealth Apps Enter Market – Melding of Smartphones and Devices Remains Nascent: With literally thousands of mHealth apps now available, most of them crappy one dimensional apps, we will begin seeing more sophisticated mHealth apps enter the market. These apps will also command a price, but their value will easily justify the purchase for many consumers. In 2009 there was also a lot of buzz around the melding of med devices and smartphones, (remember the iPhone 3GS intro with J&J onstage demo’ing Lifescan). That buzz faded rapidly when FDA showed up to inquire about compliance. FDA approval requirements/process (and aforementioned strengthening of enforcement by this administration) will limit introduction and thus proliferation of new innovative devices hinged to a smartphone."
Medical devices melding with smartphones aside, I think the FDA will be showing up on more app developers' doorsteps this year. As Moore noted, there are thousands of health related apps for smartphones currently available and you can count on one hand the number that have received clearance from the FDA.
Read Moore's full list of ten trends for healthcare IT at the Chilmark Research blog
