How Apple Could Disrupt Healthcare

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.

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Kristopher Sturgis is a contributor to Qmed and MPMN.

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