“Apple is poised to launch a body-monitoring app known as Healthbook, tracking everything from sleep to nutrition to exercise to vital signs,” Ryan Tate writes for Wired. “”
“According to the 9to5Mac rundown, Apple Healthbook is an incredibly broad undertaking. It’s designed to track your blood sugar, heart rate, breathing rate, weight, hydration, and physical movements. It even tracks health tests,” Tate writes. “Pundits are already speculating that it will be a key selling point for Apple’s forthcoming iOS 8 mobile operating system or its long-rumored ‘iWatch’ smartwatch or both. We know that Apple has hired fitness guru Jay Blahnik and various engineers with medical sensor experience, which would indicate the company is preparing some sort of wearable health monitoring device.”
“Apple Healthbook may compete with existing healthcare apps, but it also could help them flourish. As 9to5Mac points out, it could serve as a unified interface to health and fitness apps in the same way that Apple’s Passbook app helps you juggle airline boarding passes, tickets, and gift cards from a wide range of apps,” Tate writes. “Most significantly, an Apple healthcare app would be a validation of the utility of all health and fitness apps… In other words, Apple Healthbook won’t just promote the fitness of iPhone users. It will boost the well being of an entire ecosystem of healthcare technology companies.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Healthbook: Apple’s major first step into health and fitness tracking revealed – March 17, 2014
Screenshots of iOS 8: Healthbook, Preview, TextEdit icons leaked – March 13, 2014
Apple mulls iOS Notification Center tweaks, removing Game Center app in iOS 8 and OS X – March 14, 2014
Over 200 people working on Apple’s iWatch peripheral device; no FDA regulation, sources say – February 10, 2014
iWatch + iOS 8: Apple sets out to redefine mobile health, fitness tracking – February 1, 2014
Also just announced, Samsung’s revolutionary ‘Health Pamphlet’ app. Coming Q1 2016.
There’s will be an app to help you find the nearest clinic.
Surprised? Copy copy copy copy
The more I think about it, the more I feel there will be a MADE FOR HEALTHBOOK certification that will allow many different devices to communicate directly with HealthBook. Why should the iWatch track blood sugar, especially if it must be the size of a King James’ Bible to do measure it well? Why not allow existing blood sugar testers to communicate wirelessly and seamlessly with HealthBook? Same for scales for weight, etc., etc.
Actually, even if a watch-sized device measured blood sugar with a +/- 10 point error, it would still be very useful. To be able to have a constant, in-general idea of where one’s blood sugar is – not necessarily a precise reading, but a general idea – would be incredibly useful. However, I agree that current blood sugar meters, especially those which already have USB interfaces, should have a way to talk to HealthBook. Sounds like an interesting iOS programming challenge.
What will drive HealthBook is a couple core issues:
1. Costs of insurance keep rising: premiums, copays, deductibles.
2. Healthcare cost escalation in general
3. Cost in both $s and hours if a person gets a chronic condition
4. Limitations on work & lifestyles when chronic conditions arise.
Any reasonable thing a person can do to monitor, test and maintain health pays ENORMOUS dividends.
Could be even better. Instead of just getting tested at the rare intervals when you visit your doctor you will now have a more complete record of your vitals which will help you spot trouble in advance as well as help you modify your behavior.
I’m not totally starry eyed about this. Looking at your weight on the scale every day doesn’t guarantee that you will keep your weight down, but it does give you an opportunity.
PLEASE make it so……
A lot of upside here, a lot of downside, too.
We live in a litigious society. AAPL has deep pockets. Trial lawyers will be licking their chops.
Its Apple hWatch….
Will the iPhone 6 have a place to pee so that you can get a quick analysis?
Well,I guess the app is a good shot,but,what if it consumes all the battery in 2 hours?will it be still a good choice?