In our Friday newsletter, we recap the biggest news story of the week so you don’t miss out on the latest trends, developments, and acquisitions in digital health. In case you missed it (ICYMI), this round-up will catch you up on the top stories from the past month.
#1 Story: Apple’s digital health strategy outlines the tech giant’s approach to healthcare
The story: Apple recently released a report outlining the company’s digital health strategy. It is the first comprehensive overview shared by Apple since they began releasing health features, like their medical record storage function, eight years ago.
Why it is notable:
- Apple has continuously released a steady stream of new health features and updates to the Apple Watch and iPhone that appeal to Apple product users with an interest in tracking their everyday health data. The latest products to debut this fall will focus on 17 different areas of health and fitness and will allow users to store over 150 different types of health data.
- However, Apple’s healthcare strategy goes beyond consumer wellness with just as strong of an emphasis on the ability of their offerings to support the medical community in research and patient care. The report highlights several notable collaborations including the Apple Heart Study with Stanford University. Apple’s offerings in this space include ResearchKit and ResearchApp which provide capabilities for consenting, enrolling, and capturing patient data.
- The transformation of healthcare today hinges on - secure data aggregation and seamless information and alerts to patients. With Apple devices now enabling data sharing between patients and HCPs, assisting in clinical research, and providing insights to patients about their health, Apple is setting the stage to overcome some of the key barriers to healthcare transformation.
Industry implications:
- With Apple continuing to innovate in this space, there is potential for more sophisticated patient care (with more than 150 data points, Apple can deliver a near complete picture on individual health). Apple is seemingly not only bringing new tech to healthcare, but is also placing itself squarely between the patient data and the healthcare systems.
- The potential of Apple’s new products to focus on 17 different areas of health and fitness may help to solve challenges for researchers who’ve previously needed multiple devices to capture the same study endpoints. However, despite being developed with the support of an in-house team of clinicians, not all of these measures are intended for medical use. Apple will likely need further validation studies to become as integrated into research and patient care as their strategy intends.
- Through APIs, third party health solutions are being integrated into Apple’s health ecosystem, more and more data is being collected on individual health than ever before. By enabling sharing with healthcare professionals and researchers, new insights and seamless care are more possible than ever. And finally, by giving control to consumers on who they share their data with, Apple is setting the standard of privacy for digital health solutions.
Read the full article here
In other news...
#2 Story Snapshot: Strategic plans announced for NHS digital transformation
The story: The UK Government has earmarked £2 billion to roll out electronic patient records (EPR), increase the availability of remote patient monitoring and enhance features on the NHS mobile app. A National Digital Workforce Strategy will be developed to strengthen the digital skills of future and current NHS staff. The digitization of health and care systems will require an increased workforce, with the Government foreseeing the generation of 10,500 more jobs in data and tech.
Read the full article here
#3 Story Snapshot: Google Cloud partners with Northwell Health
The story: Northwell Health and Google Cloud partnered this week to use cloud technology and artificial intelligence to automate administrative workflows and identify patient risk factors for early intervention. Northwell Health is the largest healthcare provider and private employer in New York state. The collaboration will leverage Google’s technology for digital scheduling, automating payer contact and creating summaries of patient medical information. It will also use machine learning to develop predictive insights to help with scheduling, capacity planning and identifying risk indicators.
Read the full article here