January 12, 2017 — Four organizations have announced they are forming a new, multi-stakeholder collaboration, Xcertia, dedicated to improving the quality, safety and effectiveness of mobile health applications. The initial supporters of the collaboration include the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), DHX Group and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
As a nonprofit corporation, Xcertia will establish and promote best practices for mobile health apps. Xcertia’s membership and governing board will be open to broad representation from consumers, developers, payers, clinicians, academia and others with an interest in the development of guidelines for mobile health apps.
The company will respond to the critical need for a comprehensive effort to develop a framework of principles that will positively impact the trajectory of the mobile health app industry. Xcertia’s guidelines will also be a resource to support consumer and clinician choice of mobile health apps.
This collaborative effort will incorporate feedback from its members in a consensus-driven process to advance the body of knowledge around clinical content, usability, privacy and security, interoperability and evidence of efficacy. Xcertia will not engage in certifying mobile health apps, but will encourage others to apply its principles and guidelines in the development and curation of safe and effective mobile health apps.
Xcertia invites other organizations in the patient, technology and other healthcare communities to join the collaboration and add their expertise to the development of guidelines for mobile health apps.
For more information: www.xcertia.org
April 22, 2024 
