Apple plans to turn HealthKit app bundle into a full-fledged diagnostic tool that interprets fitness and health data in order to offer medical advice, Bloomberg reported Monday.
The tech giant has recruited a team of health care experts over the past few years who are busy beavering away to build an electronic record system that will be able to analyze data for both doctors and patients, the news service reported, citing "people familiar with team's plans."
Apple introduced HealthKit software in 2014 and, right from the start, made data gathered from wearables a central part of the accompanying Health app's job.
The article goes on to report that Apple is developing apps that take the gathered data, e.g. heart rate, and use it to perform analysis (time it takes to return to a resting heart rate after exercise — the quicker the recovery, the better health you are in). Apple bought Gliimpse, a startup health record data warehouse company, last August.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2016, @08:22AM
Your employment is terminated because your health monitoring device recorded vital signs which indicate you have been receiving unauthorized blowjobs on the job.
(Score: 3, Funny) by canopic jug on Thursday September 29 2016, @08:45AM
I misread the title several times as "Apple's Heathkit", and thought this was finally a step in the right direction in regards to openness and repairability.
Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2016, @08:54AM
I misread the title as Heathcliff and thought Apple had a new CEO who was a bastard foundling.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2016, @02:20PM
Anybody else read it as Heathkit? Now get off my lawn.
(Score: 2) by WizardFusion on Thursday September 29 2016, @09:36AM
"You have Cancer"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Bobs on Thursday September 29 2016, @09:53AM
I doubt anything of the sort.
This is a speculative rumor.
Why would Apple want to choose to involve itself in the incredible legal mess involved with doing medical diagnosis?
The Apple TV app cannot even manage to suggest, recommend or anticipate a movie or TV show I want.
And the writer thinks they are going to start diagnosing medical-related actions?
Not a chance ( for the foreseeable future).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2016, @03:14PM
Hey, give it a chance. Once Apple has your health information, the movie suggestions will improve. Have you seen The Bucket List? How about Dying Young?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2016, @04:37PM
> Why would Apple want to choose to involve itself in the incredible legal mess involved with doing medical diagnosis?
Their deal with Aetna to provide subsidized iwatches to 50,000 aetna insurees [cnn.com] suggests they are getting involved. Probably in partnership with Aetna so they will have all the legal expertise they need to be shielded.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 29 2016, @05:06PM
Well said - you deserve +5 for that comment. What is the PROFIT MOTIVE for Apple to become involved with the morass of healthcare IT? (Apple's current apps do not qualify by any standards.) Quick answer: The industry is still consolidating and no single player is dominant, though Epic comes close in EHR. There isn't any money in it, or IBM would be doing better with Watson. Therefore the best you'd see Apple do is buy out a little player with a chance to become a market leader. That's a far cry from thinking they'd get into diagnostics on anything besides a black skunkworks project level.