Just 3 percent of smartphone apps for hypertension management were developed by healthcare agencies, and more oversight for app accuracy may be needed, according to a study in the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension.
Researchers examined 107 apps meant to help consumers manage their blood pressure. Most apps (72 percent) had a tracking function, but just 22 percent had tools to improve medication adherence and 37 percent had general information on hypertension. None of the apps used a blood pressure cuff or had "documentation of validation against a gold standard," according to the study.
"It's not ready for clinical use," Nilay Kumar, MD, one of the study’s authors, said, according to the Huffington Post. "For now, we need to be careful that we are not using things that are inaccurate and could be potentially dangerous."
Dr. Kumar and the other study authors concluded that "there is a need for greater oversight in medical app development for [hypertension], especially when they qualify as a medical device."