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Digital Medicine, The Fda, And The First Amendment, Adam Candeub

Georgia Law Review

Digital medicine might transform healthcare more fundamentally than the introduction of anesthesia or germ basis theory of disease. Already, tens of thousands of "medical apps" are available for smartphones. These computer applications can measure blood pressure, pulse, lung function, oxygenation level, sugar level, breathing rate and body temperature-and can even diagnose skin cancer, analyze urine, and take an echocardiogram. In fall 2013, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) asserted regulatory authority over mobile medical applications and other digital medical services, threatening to chill, if not, destroy this innovation. This Article argues that the FDA stands on firm legal ground regulating medical …