Usability of Commercially Available Mobile Applications for Diverse Patients

Commonwealth Fund–supported research published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine shows that, as currently designed, health apps can present challenges to low-income adults, especially those with low health literacy. Based on their observational study of adults using apps to manage their chronic conditions, Urmimala Sarkar, M.D., David W. Bates, M.D., and colleagues found that the participants could complete only a minority of tasks without any assistance.