Getting more exercise... becoming a better person…just scroll through Facebook this week, and you'll find plenty of people, making plenty of resolutions.
“I’m just trying to get the beer cut down,” said George Lucarelli, who’s been hitting the gym today to work off the holiday feast he ate this past weekend.
And with those resolutions, there's a smartphone app for just about every health goal you could think of.
Lucarelli said, “I use Map my Ride. I like that app for biking, skateboarding, anything to measure my distance.”
But not all apps are created equal and some could be risky.
“Any application that says that it can fully diagnose, in lieu of real-world evaluations or examinations, those are the ones that I think are dangerous,” said Dr. Joseph Austerman, Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Cleveland Clinic.
He said anyone can develop an app regardless of their credentials.
“Sometimes these applications are not backed by scientific data.”
His main concern is mental health apps.
“You may have someone that’s in crisis and reaching out and if they’re getting back advice or the wrong sort of support, which is available through these applications, it could actually be more dangerous than helpful,” said Austerman.
So for apps like the new one called Koko, which seeks to help people fight off stress through a social media type of interaction, Austerman shares a few pieces of advice. For starters, research an app's credentials.
He said, “Make sure that when you’re using apps, that you’re using it through a trusted source and that it has been vetted by a mental health institution or the FDA.”
He adds these apps work best when a professional is involved.
“Realize that this does not substitute to a real world therapist or real world medical provider. That these are tools, not substitutes.”
After years of industry experts putting the pressure on for stricter regulations, the FDA has finally started to oversee certain apps, ones in particular that they deem as high risk.
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