The Apple Watch will get little regulation from the FDA on health uses

March 31, 2015

The Apple Watch is not going to be highly regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in terms of its health uses.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the FDA's Bakul Patel says the agency won't be jumping in to issue rules on how Apple's wearable device can be used by health companies. From Bloomberg:

"We are taking a very light touch, an almost hands-off approach," Patel, the FDA's associate director for digital health, said in an interview. "If you have technology that's going to motivate a person to stay healthy, that's not something we want to be engaged in."

Apparently the FDA is looking to Apple to do some self-policing on health apps made for the Apple Watch:

Patel said Apple and Google Inc. and other corporations should play a role in screening applications to be sure health-software developers aren't over-promising the benefits of their products. Both companies have visited FDA headquarters in Maryland to discuss their health initiatives, he said.

Apple has placed a lot of focus on the health and fitness features of the Apple Watch. Indeed, the company recently revealed its once secret fitness lab that has been gathering health and fitness data from people to use in the development of the Apple Watch.

Source: Bloomberg

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