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This focus on health from Apple is a big move. It's a signal that, for now, the digital health/QS space is here to stay. They're taking out a large chunk of ge
by kyro 12y ago
This focus on health from Apple is a big move. It's a signal that, for now, the digital health/QS space is here to stay.
They're taking out a large chunk of general wellness apps. Apps like Fitbit, LoseIt, etc, will be rendered significantly less useful with Apple now controlling the experience for the majority of commonly captured health data (calories, sleep, nutrition, etc). Wearable and other health companies will have to find a way to differentiate their app offerings by including features well outside the scope of Health and HealthKit (think Strava and RunKeeper). Apple is also going after the PHR space, specifically Microsoft's HealthVault. The PHR space has historically struggled to catch on (e.g. Google Health), but I suspect both Google and Microsoft's products were ahead of their time. Although I have concerns about whether PHRs are actually useful, Apple with its marketshare might finally make them mainstream. I can see them extending their new Family Sharing features to family PHR management.
However, I'm struggling to think of how Apple may be able to crack the barriers to data access on the provider/EHR side, if they aim to.
- chintan 12y agoEpic/MyChart might cover the EHR side of things "Epic Systems has developed an integration with HealthKit, suggesting a framework for getting information collected via HealthKit into patients’ MyChart app. " Source: http://mobihealthnews.com/33728/apple-reveals-tracking-app-healthkit-and-partners-with-mayo-clinic-epic/ http://mobihealthnews.com/33728/apple-reveals-tracking-app-h...
- markolschesky 12y agoI imagine that it's this (requires OpenID login): http://open.epic.com/Clinical/PatientTrackingData http://open.epic.com/Clinical/PatientTrackingData
- smackfu 12y agoLoseIt already has many of the features that HealthKit promises. Integration with weight scales, fitness apps, etc.
- kyro 12y agoYeah, that's what I mean. Apple will soon supplant apps like LoseIt because consumers will want the Apple experience and integration. And I suspect that eventually integration with HealthKit will be considered a requirement for apps by consumers, so if the data you're capturing is in parity with Health, there's no reason a user would use your app over Apple's. I think the market will shift to favor health/fitness apps like RunKeeper and Strava that offer very specific feature-sets for a niche audience.
- alttab 12y agoI feel like this is a small move for Apple. They are trying to carve out their niche in an application space that is immensely smaller than the iPod, iPad, and iPhone markets. If I was an investor, I'd be worried about these new frameworks because its solving a problem people do not yet have.
- dawson 12y agoThere are quite a few solutions out there that do, but none of them have the consumer or vendor reach that Apple does.
- smackfu 12y agoTrue, and ideally everyone would integrate with Apple's solution, so you don't end up with the problems that you have today, like LoseIt supports two running platforms, but not the one I use, so I need to use a third-party service to sync thing up to Strava.
- specialist 12y agoI prototyped the personal health portal for a handful of our customers (hospitals). Circa 2008. Little different from Google Health or Microsoft HealthVault. Some deploys went live but most were still born. The money people were motivated by increasing admissions, thru greater engagement, etc. The doctors were completely uninterested. They would never trust patients self reporting. I anticipate adoption will be driven by #1 niche use cases, such as home blood glucose monitors, where the data gathering is automatic #2 younger doctors more comfortable with the newer tech #3 patients embracing the "quantified self" movement
- napoleoncomplex 12y agoI'd love to talk to you about this, as I'm working in this field now, and would appreciate wisdom from someone who has been there. E-mail in my profile if you're up for it (I'd write to you, but no e-mail in your profile)
- dawson 12y agoFeel free to email me too, I know a bit about this space :)
- kyro 12y agoI agree. My own cynical view is that PHRs, in terms of their role in healthcare, are only good for entertaining the average patient and satisfying their curiosity with hopes of leading to engagement. I don't see them useful to physicians or providers whose management decisions are becoming increasingly evidence-based.
- judk 12y agoHow is evidence-based medicine practiced without evidence? PHRs provide evidence.
- Irene 12y agoI agree, but think it is even more niche. They hope that wearables will transform the "quantified self" from a niche to a mainstream, but as this iWatch parody says: http://mashable.com/2014/05/30/apple-iwatch-parody/?utm_cid=mash-com-Tw-main-link http://mashable.com/2014/05/30/apple-iwatch-parody/?utm_cid=... "we take privacy seriously and will livestream <all your bodily functions and> your location to <not only> NSA.
- pjscott 12y agoIn case anybody else doesn't know what PHR stands for: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_health_record http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_health_record
- AUmrysh 12y agoFor those interested, also look into the CCR[1]. It's an XML file representing treatment history used for interchange between healthcare providers. [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_of_Care_Record http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuity_of_Care_Record
- clarky07 12y agoI've spent the last 6 months worrying about today for my app business, as gps fitness tracking apps comprises a large part of it. (And actually just completely rewrote and released a version 2) Thankfully, I'm mostly relieved at the announcement. My apps are more along the lines of Strava and Runkeeper than Fitbit, and I think that is a niche that I don't think Apple's Health stuff is going to tread on. Might even offer an integration opportunity.