Centro Nacional de Información de Ciencias Médicas | Ministerio de Salud Pública
Abstract
The objective of the present study is to analyze the implications and the potential of the denominated mobile health or mHealth, as well as to revise the normative and regulations about security, developed by mobile applications in health. The use of mobile technologies to support the achievement of health goals has the potential to transform health care delivery worldwide. This includes rapid advances in technology and the exponential growth of mobile applications, leading to new opportunities for the integration of mobile health into health services. However, the quality of these applications is very variable, in terms of both their content and their functionality. Many of them are of doubtful reliability and most are not integrated into the health care system. This disorderly growth makes it necessary to establish regulatory mechanisms to ensure that these applications are used safely. The present paper discusses the steps taken on an international, regional and national level (Spain) to regulate the professional and patient use of mobile health applications and other applications aimed at disease prevention and the building of healthy habits. An analysis of the most outstanding health regulations in the field reveals that some of the applications considered to be safe by some regulatory agencies, do not pass some of the mobile security tests, such as the OWASP, established by the Open Web Application Security Project. It is therefore recommended that steps are taken to minimize the possible risks of using mobile health applications
