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Comment by rtrivedi | Hacker News Reader

I totally agree. One thing I made sure to do was make it very clear in the app (via a disclaimer) that the data is not real time and the app should not be used in emergency situations. I even tell them to call 911 whenever in doubt.

I think Health Scout is very useful but definitely shouldn't be used in life and death situations. Maybe I should make the disclaimer even more prominent...

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One thing you could do AND SHOULD DO now is post your disclaimer in your app's description. LIKE RIGHT NOW!! Don't even read the rest of what I've posted. Do not pass go. Just go append your disclaimer to your App Page.

Okay, now that you've done that, good. Second, you need to put up a disclaimer screen or modal that happens on launch or viewDidLoad that requires user to agree to your terms of service/disclaimer/privacy policy in order to use the app. If they don't agree, they can't use the app. Period.

As it is now, I can access your app without seeing any messages or disclaimers on the accuracy of the information.

People can be litigious jackasses and may want to find somebody to blame for their grief or problems. With the false perception that every app makes millions of dollars, make sure you are not a target for lawsuits by at least doing the above steps ASAP.

Other than that, great job on the app!

Thanks! Will do asap and push out a new build.

Remember that you do not need to push a new build for your description changes to get updated. Those do not require approval and will go live soon after you hit save in iTunesConnect.

Your app to find Emergency Rooms nearby shouldn't be used in emergencies? I'm not convinced a disclaimer like that it's going to cover you.

I imagine the use would be, for the caregiver of a medically sensitive individual, to familiarize oneself with a new local area on arrival rather than waiting for an emergency situation.

For example: You've arrived in a new city. Open the app, see locations for ERs. Drive to each and familiarize yourself with the surroundings.

Yup, exactly. Recently I traveled to California and used the app to familiarize myself. I noticed that the closest hospital was 30+ minutes away. It was just good info even though I never really needed it.

It isn't reasonable to expect an app to replace 911.

That might not be what plays out in court, but the problem there is people aren't reasonable.

Hmm, this is a tough one. Given that it's just a different visualization on publicly accessible data, does the app have to safeguard against this in a special way? I used a disclaimer in the app, and went into detail in the privacy policy about how the app claims no responsibility to how the data is used. Do you have any suggestions as to a good way to handle these types of situations in general?

Just looking at your description in the app store, it says that it gives people the "ability to find the nearest emergency room" not that it "provides a visualization of publicly accessible data". ie. your claim in your app description is different to what your app actually does. It is natural that you want to inflate the merits of your app because you want people to download it. But that is exactly the sort of thing that will get you into trouble in court, I would imagine. (IANAL, etc).

No.

I guess advertising the locations of hospitals and what hours they are open could be less fraught than advertising emergency rooms, but I'm not a lawyer.

It's so people can plan out their visits and know what their options are in a new area.

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