At the same time that app store/certification company Happtique is trying to train physicians to use and prescribe mobile medical apps, developer WellDoc is creating a special version of its primary diabetes app that physicians can actually prescribe to patients.
The big challenge, company officials told MedCity News last week, is to convince physicians that the app is a clinical tool, not just a health or wellness app.
The tool--called the Mobile Diabetes Intervention System--will be available in early 2013, WellDoc Chief Strategy Officer Chris Bergstrom told MedCity. It takes a step beyond the existing product in that it transmits messages to patients based on glucose levels, with instructions on how to improve them in real-time. Physicians can customize the instructions for particular patients and situations, company officials said.
WellDoc officials would do well to watch the results of Happtique's clinical study, which is testing whether physicians with special training and support will be more likely to use medical apps in their daily practice. They're also testing whether patients will be more likely to use the apps during and after treatment.
WellDoc already has clinical support to back up its products' reliability. A clinical trial we told you about last year showed clear A1c improvement in diabetic patients who used the WellDoc DiabetesManager, earning big kudos from the American Diabetes Association.
To learn more:
- read the MedCity News article