Happtique has published the final standards it will use for its app certification programme, whose aim is to produce a body of medical and health applications with which doctors and patients feel comfortable.

The company, which is a leading specialist US health app store, has come up with a programme that assesses apps both technically and in terms of quality. It covers operability, privacy, security and content.

The store also announced that the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Commission on Graduates for Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS International) will both assess content, while Intertek will be its technical partner.

The number of mobile health apps on the market “can be overwhelming” said Ben Chodor, Happtique’s CEO (he puts the figure at over 40,000 across all platforms).

Chodor argues the new standard is filling a need with healthcare professionals and consumers for third-party certification that will encourage the prescribing or downloading of credible content which will also protects user data, as well as living up to its advertising claims.

Happtique first published its draft set of standards in July 2012.