Tag: healthcare
FDA Final Guidance on Mobile Medical Applications
Summary
On September 23, 2013, the FDA issued a guidance (“Final Guidance”) explaining how medical device regulations will be applied to medical mobile applications (MMAs).[1] The Final Guidance provides mobile application manufacturers with recommendations on how to comply with the regulatory and statutory requirements governing medical devices. The Guidance indicates that the FDA intends to limit its enforcement authority to only those mobile applications that operate as medical devices and pose a significant risk to patients if they fail to function as intended.
The Final Guidance outlines three categories of mobile applications (mobile apps) generally: (1) mobile apps that are not medical devices as defined under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and are therefore not subject to FDA regulation; (2) mobile apps that may meet the definition of a medical device but over which the FDA intends to exercise enforcement … Read More »
Impact of Healthcare Mobile Apps on Treatment
The use of healthcare applications on mobile devices continues to have a growing impact on medical treatment as consumers are using mobile devices to take more responsibility for their own care. Recently, digital marketing agency Digitas Health compiled data on the impact of mobile health care applications in “CONSUMER MOBILE HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENT: How the Use of Mobile Impacts Disease Treatment and Therapy.” Digitas’ findings provide useful insight for marketers and health and wellness brands looking for new ways to effectively reach patients and their physicians with information on available treatment options.
Mobile devices are becoming a continuous part of the healthcare process and are being used by patients in both waiting rooms and exam rooms. In fact, one in three patients surveyed claimed that either they or their physician used a mobile device in the exam room. The study shows … Read More »
Where to Spend Your Healthcare Investment Dollars
In a blog entry written over the summer, I expressed the view that the next 5-10 years will present tremendous transactional opportunities in the life sciences/health care industry. Nothing has happened to dampen that view. In fact, President Obama’s reelection, which means that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is here to stay and will be fully implemented over the next few years, and our ongoing deficit reduction concerns, mandate that efficiency, cost control and strategic ways to provide better quality healthcare will be at center stage. So let’s focus in on some investment opportunities that may be interesting.
For those willing to tackle regulatory and reimbursement hurdles, there should be many opportunities in the provider world. This could take the form of hospital mergers and consolidations, spin-off of various medical and lab services that have been provided at hospitals and … Read More »