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 HealthKit, which is still under development, is the center of a new
healthcare system by Apple. Regulated medical devices, such as
glucose monitors with accompanying iPhone apps, can send information
to HealthKit. With a patient's consent, Apple's service gathers data
from various health apps so that it can be viewed by doctors in one
place.
Stanford University Hospital doctors said they are working with
Apple to let physicians track blood sugar levels for children with
diabetes. Duke University is developing a pilot to track blood
pressure, weight and other measurements for patients with cancer or
heart disease.
The goal is to improve the accuracy and speed of reporting data,
which often is done by phone and fax now. Potentially doctors would
be able to warn patients of an impending problem. The pilot programs
will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Apple last week mentioned the trials in a news release announcing
the latest version of its operating system for phones and tablets,
iOS 8, but this is the first time any details have been made public.
Apple declined to comment for this article.
Apple aims eventually to work with health care providers across the
United States, including hospitals which are experimenting with
using technology to improve preventative care to lower healthcare
cost and make patients healthier.
Reuters previously reported that Apple is in talks with other U.S.
hospitals. Stanford Children's Chief Medical Information Officer
Christopher Longhurst told Reuters that Stanford and Duke were among
the furthest along.
Longhurst said that in the first Stanford trial, young patients with
Type 1 diabetes will be sent home with an iPod touch to monitor
blood sugar levels between doctor's visits.
HealthKit makes a critical link between measuring devices, including
those used at home by patients, and medical information services
relied on by doctors, such as Epic Systems Corp, a partner already
announced by Apple.
Medical device makers are taking part in the Stanford and Duke
trials.
DexCom Inc, which makes blood sugar monitoring equipment, is in
talks with Apple, Stanford, and the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration about integrating with HealthKit, said company Chief
Technical Officer Jorge Valdes.
DexCom's device measures glucose levels through a tiny sensor
inserted under the skin of the abdomen. That data is transmitted
every five minutes to a hand-held receiver, which works with a blood
glucose meter. The glucose measuring system then sends the
information to DexCom's mobile app, on an iPhone, for instance.
Under the new system, HealthKit can scoop up the data from DexCom,
as well as other app and device makers.
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Data can be uploaded from HealthKit into Epic's "MyChart"
application, where it can be viewed by clinicians in Epic's
electronic health record.
PRIVACY MATTERS
While HealthKit promises to enhance the process of data-sharing
between physicians and those under their care, observers have noted
the potential for sensitive data to be abused. Others are leery of
having all their private information stored in one location,
susceptible to hackers for instance.
To ensure patient privacy, Apple is considering creating a "HealthKit
Certification" for third party developers, with conditions
stipulating how data must be stored securely on devices and
forbidding sale of data to advertisers, according to people familiar
with Apple's plans. Apple recently updated its developer guidelines
with data sharing rules for health apps.
Stanford's Longhurst said he expects the pilot to be expanded
quickly if there are no problems.
Rajiv Kumar, the physician leading Stanford's pilot and a pediatric
endocrinologist at Stanford Children's Health, said his team may
soon be able to set up alerts, so they can notify patients via Epic
MyChart when their blood sugar spikes or falls.
Kumar said two young patients with diabetes have been chosen to
participate in the initial trial and he hopes to extend the pilot to
teens and infants.
Duke University's Ricky Bloomfield, an internal medicine
pediatrician and director of mobile strategy, hopes the pilot will
help doctors access the data they need to better monitor sick
patients living at home.
"This could eliminate the hassle of getting data from patients, who
want to give it to us," said Bloomfield. "HealthKit removes some of
the error from patients' manually entering their data."
(Editing by Edwin Chan and Peter Henderson)
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