“Apple’s health offering is called ‘Healthkit’ and connects with both the sensors in your phone (like a gyroscope counting steps) and third party products from the likes of Nike, Fitbit, Wahoo and Withings. HealthKit will display all their information in one phone with an easy to read dashboard and Apple has also said it is working with the Mayo Clinic in the US and the Cambridge Trust in the UK to connect your results with your GP or even to contact a hospital proactively,” Gordon Kelly reports for Forbes.
“HealthKit will work with the iPhone 4S, fifth generation iPod touch, iPad 2 and above (older models won’t get iOS 8), but the iPhone 6 will be the centrepiece and driving force for HealthKit as it will have an array of new sensors expected to deliver far greater health monitoring capabilities,” Kelly reports. “On the surface HealthKit sounds great, so what is it that is raising wider concern in the medical industry? (sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I spoke to two medical professionals to find out.”
Much more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple seems to have assembled quite the array of experts. It’s likely Apple’s team have long ago addressed many, if not all, of the concerns posited by the two doctors Kelly consulted for his article.
Related articles:
HealthKit integration in iOS 8 will pull in billions of dollars for Apple – August 19, 2014
HealthKit: Inside Apple’s next game-changing revolution – August 18, 2014
Apple preps HealthKit rollout amid tangled regulatory web – August 12, 2014
Apple’s iOS primed to become the dominant mobile OS in enterprise healthcare – August 7, 2014
Apple files for HealthKit trademarks for watches, fitness sensors, and medical devices – August 5, 2014
Apple, iOS 8 Health, and the Gordian Knot of convoluted healthcare bureaucracy – August 2, 2014
How Apple’s iPhone 6 and iOS 8 will revolutionize sports, fitness, and health – July 17, 2014
I think they’re “concerned” their business may be impacted negatively. I also love “concerns” before it’s even available for broad use. Concerns usually unfounded. Web bait.
Small correction to the headline..
“Doctors PAID BY GOOGLE AND SAMSUNG raise concerns over Apple’s HealthKit”
🙂
Except that Google and Samsung are working on their own versions of HealthKit (called Google Fit). So please, you and the 11 people who gave you upvotes on this really need to get a clue.
Samsung and Google have always raised criticism – or found/paid someone to – of Apple’s products right before publicly releasing their own.
Remember when Siri was a bad idea “because you’re not supposed to talk to your phone”?
Also Healhtkit is much more encompassing than Google Fit.
If you don’t think those same people are not going to do an about face and say Samsung’s health clone miraculously is just what the doctor ordered, then the doctors should prescribe for you some clue pills.
That was a stupid article. The writer calls up a couple of doctors who have never seen HealthKit, probably have no idea what it actually is, certainly don’t know anything about what Apple has done to insure the validity of data, don’t even know that some apps already have FDA approval as medical devices, and then gets them to express some general concerns bout problems that could arise.
Their concerns should be addressed more to developers of health related apps, especially those that collect data and give advice on what to do next, as well as make claims about their data what have not been substantiated.
Here is a much more balanced story on the same subject.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/medical-apps-face-new-fda-regulation
Read the article, nothing but speculation about what it does and how it does it. As the doctors in the art weren’t included in the research & development of health kit integration, they are hardly “experts” that can offer a qualified opinion.
click bait at best…
Modern medicine should be about illness prevention instead of illness cure. Sure we need to know how to cure our ailments. However with insurance and vast bounty of profits in the medical industry, no one want’s you to be healthy, they want you to be sick.
Giving consumers info so they can make their own decisions is always dangerous. Only “experts” and the government should be allowed to have data. They will then tell you what it means.
Hogwash!
I am really eager to see what Healthkit will offer and how it will translate and present results to users.
The problem we have in society right now is that the majority of the population is scientifically and mathematically illiterate and is incapable of interpreting scientific data on their own.
There are scientists among us, you know.
I would add a word:
the majority of the population is willfully scientifically and mathematically illiterate…
the Ama and their members are always worried about not getting every penny you have . This should impact them. we should be about prevention first , including nutrition which most dr’s know anything about. They only take one class – thats meaningless
Cash Cow: according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. health care spending hit $2.8 trillion in 2012, accounting for an incredible 17.2 percent of gross domestic product.
Anything that disrupts this apple cart will be met with resistance. But, going forward, more individuals, families and companies will further empower themselves by utilizing these new tracking tools. This will save countless lives, improve well being and greatly decrease the cost of health care.
It’s not in the Apple cart yet!
(Sorry I couldn’t resist the pun.
From my experience, the medical profession is EXTREMELY conservative and resistant to change. Keep in mind that the profession is made up of analytical/science types. You need to show lots of data before they will believe something works.
Because the alternative for them (the profession as a whole) is dead people, and multi-million dollar lawsuits.
I can’t say I blame them for being conservative in their approach to their work.
Thanks, Mr. Moss
We rarely are defended so deftly…
You’re welcome. A former coworker had a husband working hospital IT, and was exasperated how doctors couldn’t figure out their desktop computers despite obviously being smart people. I’m a techie myself, but I said that when I can re-set bones, perform surgeries, and work crazy-long shifts, only then would I joke about doctors’ difficulty with computers.
He sheepishly conceded my point.
It was the mathematically minded Florence Nightingale who finally established, through statistics and polemics, that doctors should wash their hands and save lives.
Conservatism will eventually yield before proof, but unfortunately, a considerable death toll may accrue whilst medical specialists are pondering the evidence over cigars in their well appointed Victorian drawing rooms.
Translation: How do I profit from this?
Health is not your favorite music or movie. The concerns are extremely valid. Health data is the last thing that you would want compromised or used in an inappropriate manner.
Grow the hell up.
So proper nutrition is a waste of time.
Regular exercise can be compromised if used inappropriately.
Regular blood pressure checks aren’t music or movies.
You don’t know your ass from a hole in the ground.
Proper nutrition guidelines change constantly. Exercise occurs or doesn’t occur no matter if you are collecting the data.
How about if I find out something compromising in your health history (including your blood pressure) and make it a reason for me not to hire yodu for a job, give you life insurance or the best rate on a variety of other products or services. And since you insist on keeping the government. out of the matter, who is going to ensure your privacy, Apple?
This article was pretty useless, so I guess the usual Forbes click bait. Basically, how do we know the data collected is accurate, and even if it is, consumers will probably either not understand it, or wig out by obsessing over it if it doesn’t conform to their personal view of their health.
These are legitimate concerns, certainly, but also have nothing to do with Apple’s assumed new technology, which hasn’t even been announced. All we know is Apple has created a convenient app to consolidate health sensor, or manually input, data for a consumer to track their health indicators, and a set of APIs for third parties to create hardware that will talk to this app, probably over Bluetooth, to add to the database.
That’s a good thing, in my opinion, especially as we get older and our biological machine begins to break down, so we can take steps to repair the weak spots and enjoy a better quality of life.
I’m sure Gordon Kelly could find many doctors really interested even in the unfinished system that HealthKit provides, but of course being Gordon Kelly, long time Apple troll and clickbaiter extraordinaire, he chose not to.
An expert interviewed on NPR called health apps ‘snake oil’.
I suppose that means we need sweeping new federal regulatory powers, maybe even a new agency, and several congressional oversight committees, to protect citizens from their own abysmal ignorance, gullibility, and lack of accountability for their own lives…and in the process strengthening entrenched corporate interests.
You know, Hannah, a lot of the apps are just crap. They purpote to diagnose an ailment and, right now, they can say whatever they want. The FDA has been reluctant to review apps and their is pressure not to do so, because it might stifle innovation. On the other hand, an app which tells you how your heart is doing after you hold your phone up to your chest is pretty scary.
How is the consumer to know which apps to trust? Right now, I don’t know the answer to my own question.
You are making my teeth hurt with your lack of awareness on this issue. Yes, I want regulators because private insurance will use the data against you.
Federal regulatory powers are what keeps idiots like you from being in control of anything more than the keyboard you are sitting in front of.
Yes, hannahjs, I want you to be the arbitrator of… nothing.
In that case, maybe this is worth a root canal:
Entrenched government bureaucracies and the industries they are supposed to monitor are symbiotic, more protective of each other than of the public, because they provide livelihoods for the same set of personnel. If the public get a modicum of protection in the bargain, it is only to justify the continued existence of the two-headed beast.
Regulatory bodies show their usefulness through doing nothing, until an outbreak of deleterious cases gives rise to concern, then panic, at which point regulation can proceed. In a way, the public is its own canary in the coal mine. We are loath to pay for stop signs at every corner, until enough injuries occur to overcome our stinginess and our desire for untrammeled movement.
Too mean terry! Hannah’s post is deliberately provoking, which infers a quality of tongue-in-cheek. I see the points both of you make:
– Of course the corporates will grab at anything that saves them from forking over money. This continues to be the age of Screw Thy Customer.
– Of course certain people absolutely refuse to take personal responsibility for their choices or lives and act like the government is really responsible, which is clearly a form of drastic self-delusion and laziness.
This has already turned into a touchy feely issue as well as one driven by science. It’s going to be nutty, no question about it. (#_#)
Unfortunately, because of the seriousness of the application and the ramifications, this one, while nuttier than Nutella, isn’t going to be fun to just sit back and watch. There are potentially no sidelines to sit on.
Ah, you noticed me pacing the sidelines.
Every issue is touchy feely, none is driven by science. That is why I employ a neurological perspective in all my observations, one which appears alien to too many people, blinkered by their self-programmed minds. The fundamental problem of H. sapiens is that it writes its own history to justify its animal actions to itself.
Tell me about it sister! The contortions we make when we seek to fake.
Derek, I didn’t mean to imply that people are consciously faking it (as the Paul Simon song has it). It’s the unconscious processes that determine most behaviour, cement all habit patterns, and form the default reaction mechanisms in everyday life. Rational thinking only need come into play in novel situations; this is called problem solving.
Therefore in political discussions, for example (which are commonplace, not novel), rational thinking is not required because unconscious programming kicks in. Political debates essentially write themselves from predetermined inputs. I daresay ethical and religious debates operate the same way.
These cognitive ‘presets’ come with emotional charges that fuel debate and in extreme cases provide the juice that compels true believers to carry out otherwise unconscionable actions, such as killing.
I understand what you mean. But I left my snark remark as is because I do point at our subconscious mind and call it liar. I know all too well that my subconscious mind requires some discipline beyond it’s instinctual priorities. We remain on a profound level animals.
I do also enjoy the creativity of my subconscious as well. We’re not always at odds.
I am a bit reticent to say this is on the ‘UN’conscious level. That’s where our brain keeps our body systems running and triggers our instincts. It does the physical stuff while the conscious and subconscious do their cogitation.
You and I would have a wonderful conversation about the nature of ‘truth’ as we humans perceive it. It’s my #1 obsessive subject. From my perspective, our ability to believe almost anything to be ‘true’ is our worst enemy. The more I experience, the more I see that it is behind our worst traits and self-destructive behaviors.
You’ve pointed out one important reason our ‘truth’ perception is smeared and distorted: It’s useful for species survival to have group-think crusades against the ‘enemy’ thing or situation. But it also is the means of our wrecking our ability to survive, our desire to survive, and in the end our survival. Need I also mention the survival of any life on miracle planet Earth. It’s the ultimate subject for me.
I’ll stop now as I see no point in making us all miserable when I see no lasting solution. Although I do still enjoy thinking about ‘Lost Horizon’ by Hilton. Just be sure to bring the anti-radiation suits and lots of edibles in lead boxes.
You are a ray of warm light in a cold black box of unknowing
It’s right to have concerns, and technology for sake of it is pointless, but the thing is, it’s not as if any current system is perfect and that introducing new technology is going to ruin something which is working just fine as it is.
Healthkit, or indeed any other technological offering, is not going to become ubiquitous overnight, it’s not going to replace actual doctors and health care, but in certain instances, either as a supplement to or instead of traditional systems, done right it has to be a good thing.
This stuff is verging into ‘It makes people sad to realize they are morbidly obese’ territory. Yes, bad exercise, eating and health data can lead to emotional upset. So it’s better to hide your head in a bag and speed you way along to your death? I don’t think so.
IOW: Feelings trumping facts and utility. This has to qualify as a form of mental obscenity.
terrym10,
I trust Apple more with my data than I do the government. Adding oversight committee on top of oversight committee doesn’t guarantee a positive outcome or solution.
Apple will tell you, and quite rightly, that they don’t want anything to do with your data, that protecting healthcare data that way would expose them to too much risk.
When did Apple say this? On its privacy page, Apple admits to datamining just as much as any advertising firm charading around as a “tech” company.
iAd is proof positive that Apple wants your data.
Also, since you vote for your government representatives, it’s your responsibly to put in place trustworthy leaders. Apple may have a good reputation, but like all greed-driven corporations, there are incentives for bad actors within a good company to do evil — and unlike a democratically elected government, the leaders of a corporation answer to no one, and are entirely free of personal responsibility to you or your data. Just because the corporation is named Apple doesn’t make it perfect innocent and pure as driven snow.
It’s fascinating to see how the pundits (who are not medical experts) are declaring Health Kit dead before it’s officially launched. That’s an easy way to get clicks, and God knows, a faltering publication like Forbes is desperate for attention. But without knowing the details of the partnerships Apple has forged with HealthKit, Forbes and physicians the publication interviewed are making a potentially huge error of assuming.
HealthKit will not be perfect in its first incarnation. Others have tried, and failed badly. But the alternative – doing nothing and accepting the mess that is healthcare as it presently stands, is absurd. Apple is using its clout to get myriad electronic medical records vendors to have interoperable data sharing, something that does not happen now.
In addition, users do not have to disclose any information they choose to track via HealthKit with anyone else but themselves. HealthKit is designed to be used in many different ways, from someone wanting to see how they did running a 10-K to an elderly person with chronic health issues allowing their data to be shared with their physician – or nothing at all.
I roll my eyes when I read physicians suggesting that Apple has not examined potential issues with HIPAA. That’s ridiculous. A company the size of Apple has obviously been serious about Personal Health Information from the beginning of their research with HealthKit. The company has hired a number of noted experts, and many articles have appeared noting that Apple has met with the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services on at least several occasions.
But that never stopped publications in need of clicks and eyeballs to file an incompletely researched, sensational article. Sad. But then, Apple is low-hanging fruit for the media. I can only hope that HealthKit changes the game in the right direction, and proves doubters wrong. Again.
The article makes an excellent comment or two referring to diabetes. Presently I am using DEXCOM technology, paid for by mu insurance. But if someone comes up with a cheaper alternative using HealthKit, I’m in at least for a test.
In case you missed it and in case you care, the article said:
“There is one particular condition that HealthKit works very well for and that is Diabetes,” argues Gunasekera. “Diabetics have to constantly measure their blood glucose level, which is traditionally done using a pinprick and a small about of blood being analysed with a portable device. But there are tiny monitors that can be implanted under the skin that can track blood glucose that could then be tracked using something like Apple HealthKit.
Having your iPhone alert you when your blood sugar falls too low would be a monumental lifestyle change for diabetics. No more would they need to manually check their levels, they would just need to glance at their smartphones – or wait for an alarm signal to go off.”