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eatingganesha t1_ivfpkno wrote

When’s it gonna get to the rest of us? Veterans aren’t the only group that suffer with PTSD.

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jordanundead t1_ivftdds wrote

The article says it’s by prescription and most but not all current users are active or former military. Ask your doctor.

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fuglyfoot t1_ivfy3zo wrote

Is this the first app that requires a prescription?

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jordanundead t1_ivfyfep wrote

apparently prescription only apps have been a thing for a while now.

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fuglyfoot t1_ivfyz7z wrote

Let’s hope none of these apps get into the hands of some unprescribed people who will just abuse it… thank you for the article btw.

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jimmytwolegsjohnny t1_ivhgn6v wrote

I can't tell if sarcasm or not...how would people abuse a diabetes support app, or a night terror support app?

Im just dumb and you were being sarcastic though. Probably. I hope

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fuglyfoot t1_ivhgu4m wrote

I was being sarcastic, I don’t understand how an app could be medically abused.

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RiceAlicorn t1_ivj1tar wrote

Prescriptions aren't only for addressing medical abuse of patients — they're also for addressing the medical abuse of practitioners.

Imagine if I were some Dr. Oz quack. If I really wanted to, I could make a PTSD app right now and release it on the app market. Doesn't matter if it actually works. I'd have to avoid representing myself or my product as a legally qualified medical practitioner, but I could use one of the many non-legally protected "medical" titles and trick people into thinking I'm a doctor and purchasing my app.

An prescription app with FDA approval is significantly different from the quackery above. FDA approval/prescription status gives an app legitimacy. In order to get FDA approval, the app needs to undergo rigorous testing and analysis to prove that it is safe and effective when used as instructed for its intended use. Having it locked behind prescriptions also lends it legitimacy, because it means that only licensed medical professionals are allowed to distribute it. Another point is that doctors can better instruct patients on effective usage of the app as well as adjust patient medical care with this app in mind, as prescription-level things tend to come with a lot of accompanying medical literature useful for understanding them.

Those are the two good reasons: apps being granted prescription-status/FDA approval separates them from BS apps, and having the apps prescribed by doctors allows doctors to instruct patients and tweak it to better fit patient care.

Of course, there's also the third bad reason... capitalism. Getting anything FDA approval takes a ton of time and money, and at bare minimum companies need to recoup the cost. Beyond that, companies also wanna make a shit ton of money and bleed the populace dry. The market for prescription apps is in its growing stage right now, there's little to no competition, and no government-mandated price regulation. These are the perfect conditions for companies to form monopolies and mark up their prescription apps exorbitantly, forcing people to buy their products because no alternatives exist.

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Tyrilean t1_ivirem9 wrote

Wouldn’t want anyone ODing on apps.

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antiquemule t1_ivgibqx wrote

I imagine a low cost open source version would not be too difficult to create. Not that I'm offering.

Here is the story of the guy who invented it.

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Baremegigjen t1_ivitdh9 wrote

Vets were the primary test subjects, probably due to the availability of medical records and well studied cause of their PTSD. I read about this more than a year ago but it was still in the test phase so it’s great to see it’s being used more widely. Hopefully more patients who could benefit from it from across society can get access.

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