Cupertino, CA – Apple recently released a new detailed list of guidelines when it comes to developing health and medical apps that are helping the FDA enforce guidelines already in place. Overall goal – reduce or eliminate inaccurate data that could potentially cause physical harm.
The changes they are announcing contain the most stringent language I have ever seen Apple use for the health and medical categories of apps. Frankly, these are a long time coming. – Dr Iltifat Husain of iMedical Apps
Applications release prior to the new guidelines, such as instant blood pressure apps, would not make the cut under the newly released guidelines. Here are a few of the new guidelines:
- Drug dose calculators must come from the drug manufacturer, a hospital, university, health insurance company, or receive FDA approval.
- Apps cannot encourage excessive (as states adopt new recreational drug policies) or illegal consumption of drugs or alcohol
- Apps may only display DUI checkpoints that are published by law enforcement agencies
- Apps should not encourage (for example) placing a device under a mattress or pillow while charging.
You can read the full list of new guidelines here.
Why This Matters –
As pharmaceutical marketers we strive for accuracy and excellence in all forms of communication we publish, to health care providers and patients. In a world that is experiencing an influx of ‘fake news’ and the ability to produce inaccurate information (and not having the time to fact-check everything we read), it is refreshing to see not only the regulators (FDA) but also a de-facto gatekeeper such as Apple take a stance to help protect the public’s best interest.
