The Spaces Between
As the authors try to distinguish hope from hype in the promises made about smart medical devices, it's important to remember that DIY medical technologies are neither wholly new nor wholly liberating, and in offering means for circumventing physicians, they may well expose patients to new costs and new risks.
Abstract
n engl j med 374;4 nejm.org January 28, 2016 technological auto-experimentation and who is not? But the same questions could also be asked regarding consumers who purchase expensive wearable technologies and smartphone apps whose claims to produce healthier lives remain unvetted by the FDA. As we try to distinguish hope from hype in the promises made about smart medical devices, it’s important to remember that DIY medical technologies are neither wholly new nor wholly liberating. And in offering means for circumventing physicians, they may well expose patients to new costs and new risks.