Introduction :
The workshop will look at the effects of health recommendations by medical apps on patients’ autonomy, health literacy and empowerment and discuss potentials and challenges of algorithm-based medical advice. We will focus on apps designed as an assistance tool for patients that will allow them to manage their disease better and to improve their often chronic condition in the long run (“medical apps”). These devices pose unique issues differing substantially from mere health-related lifestyle apps applied by healthy persons to promote their general well-being and health. In particular, the participants will discuss ethical, legal and societal challenges of medical advice based on algorithms rather than human medical experience and patients’ values. As a framework, we will discuss general conditions of patient autonomy in the digital age.
