mHealth app developers looking for validation will need to pull out their checkbooks.
The Journal of Medical Internet Research is launching a peer review process for health apps, offering developers a chance to have their products evaluated by "medical and mHealth experts from the JMIR peer-reviewer database (possibly complemented by consumers/patient experts)" for a cool $2,500 per app.
The review process addresses a challenge often articulated in the mHealth space: How does one determine whether an app is effective? Healthcare providers in particular are asking that question as they move closer to prescribing apps.
"By and large providers require a robust and rigorous body of evidence to adopt and recommend mHealth interventions to patients," said Thomas Martin, director of health information systems for HIMSS North America (the parent company of mHealth News).
Indeed, other entities have tried to address the review and certification of mobile health apps. Happtique, for instance, dabbled with plans for an app certification process before, but with limited success. And the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics is taking a different tack by analyzing some 43,000 health-related apps.
JMIR Publications, which publishes several online sites, including 'JMIR mHealth and eHealth," "JMIR Medical Informatics" and "Medicine 2.0," says the reviewers will be paid a "small honorarium" for their work, and that reviews will be published in a JMIR site and used by partners like appsRX.
The online submission form includes questions on the app's developers and their credentials, what platforms it's designed for, how often the app is updated, where it's marketed, its target audience, contraindications (who shouldn't use the app), connected third-party URLs, similar apps and competitors, key features and functionality, the main purpose(s) of the app and funding sources. There are also questions relating to how the app has been tested and evaluated.
HIMSS’ Martin pointed out that such programs tend to raise as many questions as they answer.
"With so many apps in the marketplace, there will be a need for a differentiation of services. Peer review – at any level – is widely regarded in the healthcare space,” Martin explained. “The question becomes who is best suited to review an app and to what extent should criteria and efficacy be evaluated."
