The young and trendy app developer world is running into the day-to-day reality of regulation. Those looking to develop health related apps are trying to figure out how to work with and through the FDA. No longer is “regulation” a boring, intangible concept only discussed by think tanks. Check out the comments from Joel White, executive director of the Health IT Now Coalition.
According to the Government Accountability Office, the FDA takes about six months to approve a medical device that is similar to an existing product and 20 months to approve a brand new device. That’s simply too slow, White says.
“We’re seeing mobile apps updated and created on a daily basis,” he adds. “The life cycle is dramatically different.”
The upside of what the app industry is facing is that younger people who see the entrepreneurial opportunities of apps will begin to understand exactly what regulation is and why it drains business and stifles innovation.
