FDA Seeks to Regulate Mobile Health Apps

Claims this will not cause undue burdens or dampen innovation.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said its plans for regulating certain healthcare apps used on smartphones and tablets will not impose undue burdens on developers or stifle the growing mobile health industry.

Christy Foreman, director of the FDA's device evaluation division, told a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday that the agency's goal is to foster technological innovation while protecting public safety.

The agency would not, as some had feared, regulate the sale or general consumer use of mobile devices, she said.