Apple Inc iOS 8 HealthKit already in testing at 60 percent of top 23 U.S. hospitals

Posted:
in iPhone edited February 2015
An exclusive report by Reuters noted that 14 of the top 23 hospitals in the U.S. have already rolled out a pilot program using Apple's iOS 8 Health app, or "are in talks to do so."

Health iOS 8


Christina Farr wrote for the news service that most of the nation's leading hospitals have already adopted Apple's Health app to help doctors to remotely monitor patients with "such chronic conditions as diabetes and hypertension."

By tracking and reporting patients' weight, blood pressure, heart rate and other factors, physicians can "watch for early signs of trouble and intervene before a medical problem becomes acute," while hospitals also "avoid repeat admissions, for which they are penalized under new U.S. government guidelines, all at a relatively low cost."

Apple first unveiled iOS 8's new Health app last summer at its Worldwide Developer Convention, noting that it had already teamed up with medical records providers Allscripts and Epic Systems and other healthcare firms to support its adoption.

Health was released in late September as part of iOS 8.0.2. The Health app works with iOS 8's new HealthKit framework for developers, enabling various devices and apps to centrally pool and secure their health-related data, ranging from body metrics to fitness, nutrition intake, sleep cycles and vital signs.

Google subsequently introduced its own implementation of Health for Android called "Google Fit," and Samsung told Reuters it was working with hospitals "to develop mobile health technology."

However, while a variety of leading hospitals are already working with Apple on Health, Reuters stated that "Google and Samsung had started discussions with just a few of these hospitals."

The report also noted that "Apple's move into mobile health tech comes as the Affordable Care Act and other healthcare reform efforts aim to provide incentives for doctors to keep patients healthy. The aim is to move away from the 'fee for service' model, which has tended to reward doctors for pricey procedures rather than for outcomes."

Reuters also stated that Apple "recruited informal industry advisors, including Rana and John Halamka, chief information officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, to discuss health data privacy and for introductions to the industry."

The report described Apple as having an "'incredible team' of experts in health and fitness" and said it "was talking to medical institutions, healthcare and industry experts on ways to deliver its services."

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    That's great news, though I do think Apple first needs to address the bugs in the Health app first. Quite a few, and it could also do with a usability test, making the graphs scrollable and such. There really is no need to see a minute by minute breakdown of daily steps taken, amongst other things.
  • Reply 2 of 18
    philboogie wrote: »
    That's great news, though I do think Apple first needs to address the bugs in the Health app first. Quite a few, and it could also do with a usability test, making the graphs scrollable and such. There really is no need to see a minute by minute breakdown of daily steps taken, amongst other things.
    The power of Health Kit isn't that it can present health data to a user. It's that it provides a platform upon which other services can be created. The graphs are just there to draw the user in to use the service, while the rest of the 'house' is being built.
  • Reply 3 of 18
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    The power of Health Kit isn't that it can present health data to a user. It's that it provides a platform upon which other services can be created. The graphs are just there to draw the user in to use the service, while the rest of the 'house' is being built.

    True, that is indeed what Health Kit is for. I was merely sharing my experience with the iOS build-in Health app, which I believe is buggy. Entered hours of sleep manually this morning: from 01.00 to 08.00 gives me 6h44m of sleep(?). There are bugs like this one throughout the app. Plus I don't understand why it can't do the simplest math: entering your height & weight doesn't give me my BMI, an easy calculation.

    700


    Again, the app, not the Kit.
  • Reply 4 of 18
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
     

    "60 percent of top 23 U.S. hospitals"


     

    You're trying too hard.

  • Reply 5 of 18
    while hospitals also "avoid repeat admissions, for which they are penalized under new U.S. government guidelines, all at a relatively low cost."

    Now, there's a posititve motivation for hospitals -- from the perspective of the patient /s
  • Reply 6 of 18
    AI Generated Duplicate
  • Reply 7 of 18
    "13 top hospitals" won't get as many clicks as "60% of top 23 hospitals"?
  • Reply 8 of 18
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Healthkit is going to fucking huge with Apple Watch, they were basically made for each other. Watch this field explode in the next year. 

  • Reply 9 of 18
    slurpy wrote: »
    Healthkit is going to fucking huge with Apple Watch, they were basically made for each other. Watch this field explode in the next year. 

    Yes!

    I posted the following (edited) at the end of a too-long, dying (dead ?) thread -- it adds some support to your prediction:

    I agree the Apple Watch is a first step ... in some ways a baby step, in other ways a giant step!

    By itself, the Apple Watch can't do much!

    Paired with an iPhone, the Apple Watch is capable of amazing things:
    • selectively, secretly receive only the most important notifications based on time, where you are, what you're doing or supposed to be doing
    • ditto receive emergency alerts
    • convenient, additional methods of interpersonal communication
    • conveniently monitor and report the status of your health and wellness
    • conveniently monitor and report the status of loved ones health and wellness
    • conveniently monitor and control the status of your home(s) and the status of [health/medical] devices within (whether you are there, or not)
    • conveniently control your Apple TV and other entertainment systems
    • conveniently, safely. privately and securely pay for purchases
    • navigate, on foot, transit, in car
    • monitor and control the status of your car(s), boat(s) and RV(s) (whether you are there, or not)

    Most of these capabilities won't be there in April -- when the first baby steps are taken ...

    But, someone once said "it's a long, long while from May to December ..."
  • Reply 10 of 18
    hexclockhexclock Posts: 1,243member
    rivertrip wrote: »
    "13 top hospitals" won't get as many clicks as "60% of top 23 hospitals"?
    They may have well just written "Slightly less than 2/3" haha
  • Reply 11 of 18
    Quote:


     

    Apple Inc iOS 8 HealthKit already in testing at 60 percent of top 23 U.S. hospitals

    By Daniel Eran Dilger

    Thursday, February 05, 2015, 01:34 am PT (04:34 am ET)

    An exclusive report by Reuters noted that 14 of the top 23 hospitals in the U.S. have already rolled out a pilot program using Apple's iOS 8 Health app, or "are in talks to do so."


    So 60% of top 23 hospitals are "testing" yet 14 have rolled out or in talks to do so. So in other words have just discussed it and thus havent done jack. Its usually best not to have your headline disproved by the bit directly underneath it.

    It lowers any faith in the following article.

  • Reply 12 of 18
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by singularity View Post

     

    So 60% of top 23 hospitals are "testing" yet 14 have rolled out or in talks to do so. So in other words have just discussed it and thus havent done jack. Its usually best not to have your headline disproved by the bit directly underneath it.

    It lowers any faith in the following article.


    From the Reuters article, "Fourteen of 23 top hospitals contacted by Reuters said they have rolled out a pilot program of Apple's HealthKit service - which acts as a repository for patient-generated health information like blood pressure, weight or heart rate - or are in talks to do so." Farr's words, not Daniels's. 

     

    http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/05/us-apple-hospitals-factbox-idUSKBN0L90GL20150205 Here's the list of those hospitals, including the ones who said they weren't going to test. 15 hospitals (counted them twice so Farr can't count or added one later), of which 9 said they are already in a trial (UCLA, Cedars-Sinai, Duke University) and 6 said they are considering (Kaiser, UCSF Med Center). 3 said stuff it including UW Medical Center (no surprise since Microsoft funds them). 5 didn't respond, including John's Hopkins. The list doesn't contain any small or medium hospitals, just the big ones. Not a bad list. Now where's the Surface being tested??????

  • Reply 13 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Slurpy View Post

     

    Healthkit is going to fucking huge with Apple Watch, they were basically made for each other. Watch this field explode in the next year. 




    Well, judging by your enthusiasm, it's either that or your head.

  • Reply 14 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by singularity View Post

     

    So 60% of top 23 hospitals are "testing" yet 14 have rolled out or in talks to do so. So in other words have just discussed it and thus havent done jack. Its usually best not to have your headline disproved by the bit directly underneath it.

    It lowers any faith in the following article.


    You have faith in any news media? You must have not tripped over any religious tomes when a toddler.

  • Reply 15 of 18
    elrothelroth Posts: 1,201member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post



    AI Generated Duplicate



    It's always someone else's fault.

  • Reply 16 of 18
    slurpy wrote: »
     
    Healthkit is going to fucking huge with Apple Watch, they were basically made for each other. Watch this field explode in the next year. 


    Well, judging by your enthusiasm, it's either that or your head.

    Lol
  • Reply 17 of 18

    Agreed - though I note you have to enter your height every day (would be good to have defaults!)

     

    Equally - it should be expanded to show vaccination history. I.e. when your tetanus needs to be redone or for travellers/health workers - Jap B, Heb B injections. It could even link to the calendar app to give an alert to say you need visit the doctor...

     

    Its a great start - just needs polish.

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