CDC’s Flu App Suffers from Too Many Bugs of its Own
By
Joseph Marks
The influenza app for doctors takes too long to load and doesn’t display information well.
This story is part of Nextgov’s Building Better Apps project.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Influenza App is designed to help experts stay up to date on flu outbreaks but the app suffered from too many bugs of its own, according to Nextgov’s private sector app reviewers.
All three reviewers complained the app took a minute or more to load and to update when they opened it. Once the data did load, the reviewers said, it didn’t offer much that they couldn’t have found on Google. And the information that was there wasn’t offered in a compelling format.
“The information was organized in a way that is probably fine for the intended audience of medical professionals,” said Ted Chan, founder of Practicequiz.com, “But the biggest thing that would help it is [more] visualizations. Just because people are technical doesn't mean they wouldn't rather see a map or a chart.”
Overall, the reviewers agreed, the information would have been better suited to a mobile-optimized website, which could offer the same information but cut down on the lengthy loading time.
Our reviewers gave the app 1.7 points out of a possible five.