Two top U.S. hospitals will launch trials of Apple's HealthKit for diabetic patients and those suffering from chronic diseases.
HealthKit is Apple's take on modern healthcare. It is still under development, but it is a set of regulated medical devices that can collect patients' data and integrate it into an app that doctors and other healthcare providers can access. The data collection will be pre-approved by the patients.
Stanford University Hospital announced that they would use HealthKit to aid doctors with recording blood sugar levels of diabetic children. Duke University, on the other hand, will use the device to monitor blood pressure levels, weight and other body measurements of patients with heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses.
HealthKit's goal is to accelerate the speed of data transfer, as well as improve its accuracy. Traditionally, a patient's charts are relayed to doctors over fax or phone, according to Reuters. This new device will enable physicians to access data real-time and warn nurses and the patients of potential problems beforehand.
Apple plans to offer the service to more health care agencies and other hospitals in the United States, especially to those open to trying the new technology, which can improve healthcare in terms of lowering costs and providing better service to the patients.
Stanford Children Hospital's Chief Medical Information Officer, Christopher Longhurst, told Reuters that children who will be using HealthKit will be given an iPod Touch upon discharge. The device will be used to record and monitor blood sugar levels.
Although HealthKit is a promising tool, some are apprehensive about privacy issues, especially because medical data is very sensitive and private information. To address this problem, Apple will create a HealthKit Certification that will detail how the device can safely store patient's data, as well as prohibit the sale of this data to third party organizations such as advertisers.
