Health Records within Apple’s health app
Update: This post has been updated from an earlier version to include details on Medisafe.
The same day that Apple hosted its annual developer keynote event to preview new components and tools for its latest operating system, the company rolled out an API that will give developers access to data from the company’s Health Records app, according to a company news release. The idea is that developers will be able to produce apps that could include medication adherence and diabetes management, among other areas.
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Some of these apps are expected to be available as early as this Fall.
Medisafe, a medication management business, is one example of a developer that’s been an early adopter. Medisafe will connect with the Health Records feature so consumers can import their prescription list without manual entry, enabling pill reminders and allowing users to receive relevant medication information.
“Medisafe was the first in its category to integrate Apple Watch and HealthKit, and we’re excited to integrate with the Health Records feature to give patients greater control and peace of mind,” said Medisafe CEO Omri Shor in a company statement.
When consumers choose to share their health record data with trusted apps, the data flows directly from HealthKit to the third-party app and is not sent to Apple’s servers, the press release noted.
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“Medical information may be the most important personal information to a consumer, and offering access to Health Records was the first step in empowering them. Now, with the potential of Health Records information paired with HealthKit data, patients are on the path to receiving a holistic view of their health,” said Apple COO Jeff Williams. “With the Health Records API open to our incredible community of developers and researchers, consumers can personalize their health needs with the apps they use every day.”
In January Apple invited a group of hospitals and health systems to beta test its Health Records app, before announcing in March the commercial rollout of the personal Health Records function, which more than 29 healthcare organizations decided to adopt.
In a phone interview earlier this year Dr. Alistair Erskine, Geisinger Health System Chief Clinical Informatics Officer, said that Apple’s Health Records will help resolve some of the semantic interoperability problems and unleash a wave of innovation from app developers. He also noted that it will let patients decide what data should be shareable and will ease data transfer. Although his comments were positive about the user experience being an improvement over what Microsoft and Google have produced, he was more conservative in his outlook about the impact of Health Records on interoperability.
“Anyone who has been in this business for awhile knows that it is the battle of the data models from each individual EHR vendor.”
Apple Watch had a higher profile in the main presentation today as Kevin Lynch, head of Apple Watch software, highlighted new additions to the health and fitness components. A hiking setting allows users to more accurately track the intensity of their exercise based on elevation and heart rate. Runners can track rolling miles, or how they performed in the previous mile they ran compared with their performance on the next mile. They can also track cadence.
Earlier today, International Data Corp noted in its report on wearable device shipments for the first quarter that Apple Watch had grown its marketshare to just over 16 percent in the first three months of the year compared with 14.3 percent for the same period last year and dominated shipment volume, followed by Xiaomi with 14.8 percent. Fitbit ranked third for the quarter with an 8.7 percent marketshare, a decline of 28 percent over the previous year. Still, Fitbit is pinning its hopes, in part, to wider adoption in the healthcare industry and the recent rollout of its women’s health functions. The company claimed that more than 2.4 million women have used the feature to date.
Note: Medisafe is an advertiser with MedCity News.