If you can think of an ailment, concern, or any aspect of your health and wellbeing that you wish to monitor or improve, you can be certain that there already exists an app for it. What is uncertain however, is whether these apps will work as advertised, and whether first and foremost, they will ‘first do no harm?’.

Yet despite the significant potential for health apps to enhance the efficient and timely delivery of healthcare, there are currently numerous drawbacks. This is because unlike established therapeutic options, including pharmaceuticals, there exists no clear guidance to app developers understand what is expected, and what evidence should be collected, in order to demonstrate the efficacy and value of health apps.

It is clear that setting a high standard for health apps from the outset is vital to achieving long-term benefit to both patients and the health system globally. In this session, Liz Ashall-Payne, CEO at ORCHA, will outline what is happening across the globe in this space and how best practice can be achieved.

The Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) is the world’s leading independent digital health evaluation and distribution organisation. It helps health and care organisations to deliver the right digital health apps, to the right people, at the right time. Its unique insight, assessment, and implementation services are improving the health of the population, the health of our health systems and the health of the health app ecosystem.

ORCHA conducts reviews for government organisations across Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Australasia.

In the UK, ORCHA conducts reviews for Health Education England, CQC, NICE NHS Digital and NHS providers in 70% of regions.