How
Apple Could Disrupt Healthcare
Posted in Mobile Health
by Kristopher Sturgis on August 18, 2014
Apple is
currently in talks with electronic health record provider Allscripts, as well as
several hospitals, in an effort to discuss the use of its previously
announced cloud-based health information platform known as
HealthKit.
The latest
discussions could signal a major push into the healthcare space, not to mention
the device industry, for the Cupertino, CA–based high tech giant.
Apple’s
intent with the HealthKit is to make health information such as blood pressure,
weight, and pulse data available for both consumers and healthcare providers to
view in one place. Currently, this data is gathered by thousands of various
third-party healthcare software applications and medical devices, but none if
it is centrally stored.
The
situation matters for medical device makers because data harvesting from
devices has been viewed as a lucrative expansion area. Through HealthKit, Apple
might become a company that every device designer might have to reckon with.Apple’s
product includes both the platform (HealthKit), and a user-facing app called
“Health” that will be bundled into Apple’s iOS8 software that powers iPhones
and iPads. According to an Apple news release, users will be able to allow each app
access to specific information that will provide a more comprehensive way to
manage your health and fitness.
If Apples
rumored iWatch becomes a reality, odds are that it is going to connect to the
HealthKit and have some medical device functions. Patents from 2011, reported in Qmed’s sister website MD+DI, suggest a device that
might be able to track a heart rate monitor, accelerometer, and haptic
feedback. There has even been speculation
of non-invasive continuous glucose monitors for diabetics.
It is little
wonder, then, that the iWatch is rumored
to be held up by the FDA.
For now,
Apple has also announced HealthKit partnerships with EHR provider Epic Systems
and the Mayo Clinic, among other entities. “Your blood pressure app could share
its data with a physician app, such as the Mayo Clinic app, so your doctor can
provide high-quality guidance and care,” the recent release detailed.
Reports also
suggest that the Mayo Clinic is testing a service that flags patients when data
received from the apps and devices are abnormal, alerting both the patient and
their physician when something may be wrong. Kaiser Permanente is also
reportedly testing several mobile apps that use HealthKit, and is discussing a
more formal partnership with Apple.
In an interview with Reuters, Brian Gardner, Kaiser Permanente’s
leader in research and development in mobile offerings, said many physicians
are thinking about how to leverage patient-generated data from apps and mobile
devices.
“Apple has
engaged with some of the most important players in this space,” Gardner said.
“Platforms like HealthKit are infusing the market with a lot of new ideas and
making it easier for creative people to build for health care.”
The residual
effects of streamlining health records through HealthKit are still being
discovered. Many believe the app has the potential to save IT teams at
hospitals money because mobile developers will no longer have to link with
multiple apps and devices, such as fitness trackers and glucose monitors. Now,
these can all fall under the umbrella of one convenient app, with the data
collected and stored on one platform.
Apple has
also spent considerable time ensuring that consumers are aware of how the data
is being collected and stored. The company has enabled a toggle option for the
app that will allow patients to decide whether or not they wish to share data
from third party apps (such as a Nike fitness app collecting heart rate data)
with the HealthKit app. In Apple’s release, they did confirm that any sensitive
health data stored in iCloud is encrypted while in transit and at rest,
ensuring privacy for any user.
While there
is still plenty of minutiae for Apple to sort out, their objective remains
clear. With Google making its footprint
visible in the field of medical technology, Apple certainly has no
intention of being left behind.
