Apple has just recently launched the Apple Watch, which is set to revolutionize the way we track fitness and calories, among other things, but their intention to dominate health care doesn't end there. It has a far more ambitious and bigger project in the form of the HealthKit.
The HealthKit is surely going to work in compatible with the Apple Watch, but it does more than that. It's also expected to pull data from third-party apps and store it in one place. Moreover, health care and insurance providers will be able to view them with ease and quickness.
But will it really work in a real health care setting? To find out the answer, HealthKit will be put to test through a clinical trial.
Apple has already mentioned in some of its press releases that it's currently working with certain U.S. hospitals and insurance providers. Today we learn two of them: Stanford University Hospital and Duke University Hospital.
Standford University Hospital's clinical trial with HealthKit will revolve around its level of accuracy, speed, and efficiency in reporting glucose levels among children affected with type 1 or juvenile diabetes. Meanwhile, Duke University Hospital's focus will be blood pressure monitoring of patients stricken with cardiovascular disorders and cancer.
In order to carry out the trial, patients are provided with Apple tools such as an iPod Touch to type 1 diabetes patients. Companies tht manufacture medical equipment like DexCom will also be in board to create products that will be suitable for HealthKit.
In line with cloud security and privacy issues, especially with the iCloud, Apple wants to assure users that HealthKit is safe and secure by potentially developing special certifications for third-party apps. It will also detail how confidential patient information should be stored in their end as well as the limitations of their use of these data.
Should these clinical trials conclude with good results, HealthKit may help individuals significantly in monitoring their own health, thereby reducing health care costs.