Beyond that, it should be up to the company that has developed the app to prove it’s efficacy to hospitals and provider groups. As is true of any business, healthcare or otherwise.

The only thing Happtique can really offer is determining if the app follows certain security measures but those are somewhat ill defined right now and I think if the company shows they have followed the regulations with good intention, that should suffice.

“when I’m dealing with providers and institutions is ‘hey, there are so many apps out there, how do we know which ones have just even been looked at by clinicians? …”

I wonder if these providers and institutions encounter similar problems when they are in the market for buying text and reference books? Does the librarian at the Mount Sinai Hospital for example refer to a certification body that tells them what is a good book or not or do they just use their professional expertise, connections and good judgement?

Clinicians I know here in Europe who use a lot of smartphone apps started out several years ago with the well known brands eg. text & reference book apps that are produced or at least branded by the familiar medical publishers. They then find more in their specialist areas using their indepth knowledge, reading of subject matter publications and personal connections to make judgments. When they find good apps they again use apps to share these with their colleagues (eg. via Doctor community websites like Doctors.net.uk in the UK).

Is the US market very different from here in Europe? Do Healthcare Professionals in the USA not trusted online sources of medical education, research and communication?