A recently released report outlines the ways in which Apple products are advancing personal health, research, and care for users, developers, and health organizations.
A new report released by Apple today provides an overview of the ways in which Apple products enable users to take charge of their health and safety and serve as knowledgeable protectors of
Users, developers, healthcare institutions, and hospitals around the globe are using Apple features, products, and APIs to break down barriers between people and their health information while keeping privacy in mind.
Apple has divided its health-related initiatives into two main categories, each of which is covered in detail in a separate section of the report. The first section outlines Apple’s emphasis on providing customers with actionable, science-based insights and safety-promoting personal health and fitness features on the iPhone and Apple Watch.
We fervently think that technology can help people lead healthier lives and improve their health, and we are thrilled about the various ways consumersApple has divided its health-related initiatives into two main categories, each of which is covered in detail in a separate section of the report. The first section outlines Apple’s emphasis on providing customers with actionable, science-based insights and safety-promoting personal health and fitness features on the iPhone and Apple Watch.
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,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer
Our goal for the future is to keep developing science-based technology that gives individuals even more knowledge and serves as an intelligent health guardian, enabling them to take an active role in their own health rather than just being passengers. Rather, we want people to have insightful knowledge and to be firmly in control.
Empowering Users on Their Personal Health Journeys
With the intention of giving consumers clear, actionable insights to enable them to lead healthier lives, Apple has launched a plethora of cutting-edge health and fitness features since the launch
of the Apple Watch in 2015 and the Health app in 2014.
The four pillars of Apple’s fitness and wellness features are outlined in the report:
1) allowing consumers to store and access their health data in one safe location via the Health app.
2) incorporating functionalities that let Apple Watch serve as a smart health nanny.
3) offering features that help users improve their everyday health and fitness for better health outcomes.
4) fuelling innovative third-party health and fitness apps with developer tools.
Apple Watch and iPhone will get features centered around 17 different aspects of health and fitness this autumn, ranging from women’s health and mobility to heart health and sleep. These enhancements will be included with the release of iOS 16 and watchOS 9. Customers have expressed how these exercise and wellness aspects have, in their own words, transformed their lives throughout the years, across all age groups. Customers who have learned about critical cardiac diseases, sought emergency care after falling, or significantly improved their health via daily movement are among those whose tales are told in the study.
In addition to existing health records data from connected institutions in the US, UK, and Canada, users may now save over 150 different types of health data from Apple Watch, iPhone, and connected third-party apps and devices in one unified display in the Health app. Tens of thousands of apps are currently available on the App Store that make use of the HealthKit API. This allows developers to deliver cutting-edge health and fitness experiences while adhering to strict privacy and data security regulations, by using data that users choose to share from the Health app. Examples of HealthKit-enabled apps that are widely used include Nike Run Club, Calm, and WeightWatchers. Additionally, a growing number of HealthKit-enabled apps, such as Qardio heart health and Withings Health Mate, use connected accessories.
Supporting the Health Ecosystem by Collaborating with the Medical Community
According to Apple, the medical community and the company can only work together directly to produce the greatest health advances.
The paper outlines four types of such collaborations:
1) building tools to enable researchers to make new scientific discoveries.
2) using relevant data to support the development of the doctor-patient relationship.
3) collaborating with health organizations to promote healthy lifestyles at large scale
4) supporting public health and government initiatives.
The framework gives researchers the opportunity to recruit study participants from a large user base of iPhone and Apple Watch users, and for participants to choose to share health data to help advance science
Apple has partnered with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the American Heart Association and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the University of Michigan and World
Health Organization to offer users across the US the opportunity to participate in three first-of-their-kind research studies: the Apple Women’s Health Study, the Apple Heart and Movement Study, and the Apple Hearing Study
The paper includes details on additional studies Apple has financed, such as the Heart Failure Study with University Health Network and Early Learnings from the studies.
the Digital Mental Health Study with UCLA.
