Apple recently shared a report on how the company is empowering its users with their health information. Apple claims that Users, developers, medical institutions, and health organizations are using Apple devices, features, and APIs to help users utilize health information in the best possible way.
Apple’s Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said: “We believe passionately that technology can play a role in improving health outcomes and encouraging people to live a healthier day, and we are excited about the many ways users are benefiting from our health and fitness features, and by the ways third-party developers, institutions, and organisations are using Apple technology to advance health and science. Our vision for the future is to continue to create science-based technology that equips people with even more information and acts as an intelligent guardian for their health, so they’re no longer passengers on their own health journey. Instead, we want people to be firmly in the driver’s seat with meaningful, actionable insights.”
Users are able to store over 150 different types of health data from the Apple Watch, and iPhone in the Health app. Apple’s HealthKit API is being used by tens of thousands of apps including Nike Run Club, Calm, WeightWatchers, Qardio heart health, and Withings Health Mate.
Apple has collaborated with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the American Heart Association, the University of Michigan, and the World Health Organization to offer users across the US the opportunity to participate in various research studies.
Health organizations and companies around the world like Paceline in the US, Vitality Active Rewards in the US, the UK, South Africa, and Australia; LumiHealth in Singapore — have collaborated with Apple to integrate Apple Watch into their wellness programs.
These programs have been successful in increasing the users’ physical activity levels and uptake of health behaviors, like aiming for more regular sleep patterns, focusing on mindfulness, and swapping in healthier food options.
