So how do patients know which health apps will be up to scratch?

THERE are 320,000 health apps available in the UK, including those that allow you to have a live consultation with a GP. But how do you know which are any good?

Only a tiny fraction — 77 — have been vetted by the NHS and can be found in the NHS Apps Library. However, the NHS checks only for safety and security; many of the apps in the library have no clinical evidence to support their use.

The library apps that have been clinically tested by the NHS carry a tick symbol and the words ‘NHS Approved’

Of the apps listed, only one — the myCOPD app for managing the chronic lung condition Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease — is ‘NHS Approved’, while only three others are undergoing clinical testing: mental health support apps called Chill Panda, Cove and Cypher.

WORRIES ABOUT WHO CAN SET UP NEW APPS

A REPORT published last year by the think tank the International Longevity Centre (ILC) concluded that the best apps are often lost among swathes of poor quality, ineffective ones, some of which had serious data security flaws.

Jon Date, of the ILC, says: ‘While poor-quality drugs or medical

machines rarely, if ever, reach the market, it’s not the same for apps because the barriers for entry are so low.

There’s no kind of formal regulation — anyone can set up an app without any kind of checks.’

Some apps offer live consultations with doctors and healthcare professionals via text or video messaging.

Some of the most popular apps in the UK include GP at hand, an NHS-backed app which is free but patients must give up their usual GP; Push Doctor, which offers membership at £3 a month and charges for GP appointments; and Now GP, which offers ‘on-the-go’ video consultations for a fee.

Partnerships with NHS practices mean that appointments with Livi, which offers video calls ‘within minutes’, are free in some areas.

IS ENOUGH BEING DONE TO PROTECT PATIENT SAFETY?

PROFESSOR Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, is concerned about patients using ‘live doctor’ app.

She fears they could be misdiagnosed or given inappropriate treatment because the online doctor does not have access to a patient’s full medical history or their medication details.

‘We have concerns about apps that offer patients access to GP services without being rigorously evaluated in terms of the potential impact they have on patient safety,’ she says.

SOME SYMPTOM CHECKERS FOUND TO BE INACCURATE

OTHER mobile apps offer automated consultations, where patients can check their symptoms against computer software

But a 2015 study at the University of Southampton of 19 apps designed to predict the risk of a heart attack, found only half were accurate, with paid-for apps performing worse than the free ones.

Even accurate results could cause damage, warns Jeremy Wyatt, professor of digital healthcare who did the study.

‘There is a risk patients could waste valuable time in critical situations because they are focused on entering symptoms into an app and waiting to be told to call 999, instead of calling for help as soon as an emergency happens,’ he says.

. . . BUT HIGH HOPES FOR THE NHS’S OWN NEW APP

THE official NHS App — which will let patients book GP appointments, order repeat prescriptions, see their medical records and contact NHS 111 online, among other services — is currently being piloted.

Unlike other apps offering similar services, this is the first to be made and run inhouse by the NHS. Experts are hopeful it will make it simpler to access treatment and share relevant information. Professor Wyatt adds: ‘Apps are potentially a great idea — if we can get them right.’