DizzyFix iPhone app might have users in a moral tizzy

One line into the disclaimer of the  iPhone app (free) and I knew it wasn’t for me. Or was it just what I needed? The DizzyFix app is intended to be used by a medical professional to guide loose vertigo into non-reactive areas by using the Epley maneuver. I am not a medical professional, but vertigo just happens to be an ailment I often suffer from.

When I went on to read the instructions on how to proceed, there was now a strict warning that this app is designed ONLY for use by a medical professional. For a request so serious, I wondered why I was even able to get a hold of the app in the first place. If Clearwater Clinical Limited, the people behind the app, only wanted professionals to use DizzyFix, maybe they should have only made it available to medical professionals?

Just as I was trying to decide whether it was morally OK for me to try this app out despite the fact that I’m not a doctor, the decision was made for me. I finally understood what it meant that the start screen has been permanently stuck on: “This demo-only version will automatically upgrade to the full version at no charge when available.” The full version comes out the week of May 10. I guess by “full version” they meant working version. 

So, as of now, I have a sense of what this app is potentially capable of, but no gage on the app’s actual effectiveness. Once the full version is upgradeable, will it be ethically correct for me to try this app, or should I bring in to my next doctor visit and see if my physician wants to give it a whirl?

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