Apple seeking partners for its HealthKit app

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Inc has been discussing how its HealthKit service will work with healthcare providers at Kaiser Permanente, Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins. According to news reports, Apple has also been in discussions with Allscripts about integrating the app with its electronic record system, which is used by scores of hospitals in the United States and by some in Canada.

The talks underscore how Apple is intent on making health data, such as blood pressure, pulse and weight, available for consumers and health providers to view in one place.

Currently, this data is being collected by thousands of third-party, healthcare software applications and medical devices, but it isn’t centrally stored. Apple also hopes physicians will use this data to better monitor patients between visits – with the patient’s consent – so the doctors can make better diagnostic and treatment decisions.

Apple has not divulged much specific detail on HealthKit, which is expected to be incorporated into the iPhone 6 come September. But Apple intends HealthKit to become a lynchpin in a broader push into mobile healthcare – a fertile field that rivals Google and Samsung are also exploring.

The iPhone maker has previously disclosed partnerships with Nike Inc, Epic, and the prestigious Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic, which boasts a suite of mobile apps. Mayo is reportedly testing a service to flag patients when results from apps and devices are abnormal, with follow-up information and treatment recommendations.

Dozens of major health systems that use Epic’s software will soon be able to integrate health and fitness data from HealthKit into Epic’s personal health record, called MyChart, according to a person briefed by Apple. Kaiser Permanente is currently piloting a number of mobile apps that leverage HealthKit, two people have said, and is expected to reach out to Apple to discuss a more formal partnership.

“Apple is going into this space with a data play,” said Forrester Research’s health care analyst Skip Snow. “They want to be a hub of health data.”

But some implementations with HealthKit may be a challenge due to a web of privacy and regulatory requirements and many decades-old IT systems, said Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT, a Washington-based organization that represents mobile app developers.

“Everybody is knocking on the door,” he said. “But I doubt that HealthKit will merge with all the existing systems.”

Apple declined to comment on upcoming partnerships for HealthKit. An Allscripts spokesperson said it did not publicly discuss contractual or prospective agreements. Mount Sinai and Johns Hopkins’ press officers had no information to share at this time.

Cleveland Clinic associate chief information officer William Morris said the clinical solutions team is experimenting with HealthKit’s beta and is providing feedback to Apple. HealthKit and related services could become a means for some technology teams at budget-strapped hospitals to save time and resources, as mobile developers won’t have to integrate with dozens of apps and devices like fitness trackers or glucometers as they have to now, he said.