Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

'Most healthcare apps not up to NHS standards'

'Most healthcare apps not up to NHS standards'

A firm which reviews healthcare apps for several NHS trusts says 80% of them do not meet its standards.

Failings include poor information, lack of security updates and insufficient awareness of regulatory requirements, said Orcha chief executive Liz Ashall-Payne.

The firm's reviews help determine whether an app should be recommended to patients by NHS staff.

There are about 370,000 health-related apps available online, Orcha said.

App developers can categorise their apps themselves and the ones reviewed by the firm include those tagged health, fitness and medical.

So far, the firm has reviewed nearly 5,000 apps and found many poor examples, including:

* A diabetes management app offering complex medical support without any back-up from experts

* A physiotherapy app offering exercise plans without any visible input from professionals

* An app to help smokers quit, which had not had security updates in more than two years

One of the criteria on which many apps fail is regulation, Orcha (Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps) says - although this can be unintentional, if developers don't realise what is required.

"Innovators can get a bad reputation and that can be unfair," says Liz Ashall-Payne.

"Imagine if you have experienced a challenge with your health or that a loved one and you just want to help others. You're coming at it with good intentions but you wouldn't necessarily know which regulation your product needs."

And it is not necessarily straightforward.

Liz Ashall-Payne is a former speech and language therapist


Regulation


Any app which offers to calculate medicine doses or timings, or diagnose injury or conditions is defined as a medical device. They require a CE quality mark, according to the government regulator the MHRA.

But even if an app does not fall into that category, its developer may, depending on the service offered, still need to contact a national regulator: the Care Quality Commission (England), Healthcare Inspectorate (Wales), Healthcare Improvement (Scotland), or the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (Northern Ireland).

For example, an app offering access to a virtual doctor would need to be registered with the CQC in England, but AI or machine learning elements would not fall under its remit.

And busy healthcare professionals might not be able to check this either.

"As a healthcare professional, you just want to get good health apps to your patients," said Ms Ashall-Payne, a former NHS speech and language therapist.

"But it's difficult to know which tools to recommend."

The NHS also has its own public-facing app library, containing apps vetted by its digital team NHSX, which carried out some work with Orcha.

Apple and Google rules


Apple and Google have their own review process for allowing apps on their stores in the first place.

Google said in a statement that it reviewed all apps on a "case-by-case basis" and Apple says in its developer guidelines that medical apps "may be reviewed with greater scrutiny".

Apple also says apps which claim to take X-rays or measure things like blood sugar levels using data taken by the sensors on the device are banned.

'Large sample'


Dr Jermaine Ravalier, from Bath Spa University, worked on an app aimed at helping NHS workers tackle mental health issues.

"Lots of apps are put together that are either poorly designed or not researched thoroughly enough," he said.

Ideally an app needs the input of a large sample of people living with the target subject, rather than a select few, or an individual, he said.

"One issue is the other side - once it's been designed, rather than rolling it out, check whether it's actually going to be effective."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
×