When Diagnostic Health Apps Fail: Skin Cancer Edition, JAMA Reveals

Smartphone health apps are exciting for everyone involved--the consumers, who can take control of their health data; the investors, who see the promise of big business; and the creators, who are making lots of money. All that excitement should be tempered with at least a little bit of caution, however. In a recent study, researchers found that four different smartphone apps all claiming to be able to identify skin cancer came up with variable results. Most disturbingly, three out of the four apps categorized melanomas (i.e. skin cancer) as normal 30% of the time.

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