Did you know...?
Apple is now rejecting new medical apps that include drug dosages
In lieu of the FDA’s recent inquiry into the uCheck urine analyzer app, it appears Apple might be tightening restrictions on medical app developers.
It appears that a number of developers have struggled recently to get medical applications into the App Store with the reason cited being: "We can only accept medical dosage information submitted by the medicine's manufacturer."
One developer noted that they have now had multiple apps rejected from the App Store and as a result have decided to stop developing for the iOS platform and are going to instead concentrate on the Android platform.
This has many implications for healthcare professionals and patients alike.
- At this point, it’s unclear if apps like Epocrates or Medscape are free from the rule since they could argue they are using dosage information from the medicine’s manufacturer. But how does Apple confirm the dosages are correct?
- Does this mean Apple will reject a textbook app if one part of it contains any drug information?
- Only allowing applications which have been developed by pharmaceutical companies opens up the potential for biased medical information and targeted advertising
- What happens to medications that are off brand, do we need hundreds of different applications to tell us how to prescribe Tylenol?
(text source)
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