Companies push for regs on health tech

A wide array of industry groups are calling on Congress to pass a new law outlining rules for health technology, such as “smart” watches, pumps that know when to administer drugs or smartphone apps that monitor people’s blood pressure.

Dozens of organizations this week wrote lawmakers warning that there is “significant confusion in the market” about which advances are regulated and by whom.

{mosads}“This uncertainty creates barriers to the development of promising technologies” that can help more patients, they wrote in their letter.

“The potential cost and delay created by current regulatory uncertainty may further deter software and system developers from creating products that have the ability to greatly benefit patients.” 

The businesses said they wanted legislation that would outline which agencies have jurisdiction over health technology products and update the law for regulating the devices this year.

Regulation should be focused on ”technologies that present a high risk of patient safety,” they argued, and not those that don’t seem to affect patient safety.

The letter was signed by organizations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation and the Software and Information Industry Association.

In April, the Food and Drug Administration released a report proposing a framework for regulating the world of health information technology, such as medical applications on people’s smartphones. Now, the companies want Congress to act.

Though the technologies have the ability to give people better care, they may also collect sensitive data without a person’s knowledge, some people have warned.

Though many of the technology are relatively new, the industry is only likely to blossom in coming years.

Apple’s new watch device includes ways for people to track their health data, as does Google’s Fit system. Facebook is also reportedly working on ways to enter the healthcare field.