They're taking out a large chunk of general wellness apps. Apps like Fitbit, LoseIt, etc, will be rendered significantly less useful with Apple now controlling the experience for the majority of commonly captured health data (calories, sleep, nutrition, etc). Wearable and other health companies will have to find a way to differentiate their app offerings by including features well outside the scope of Health and HealthKit (think Strava and RunKeeper). Apple is also going after the PHR space, specifically Microsoft's HealthVault. The PHR space has historically struggled to catch on (e.g. Google Health), but I suspect both Google and Microsoft's products were ahead of their time. Although I have concerns about whether PHRs are actually useful, Apple with its marketshare might finally make them mainstream. I can see them extending their new Family Sharing features to family PHR management.

The money people were motivated by increasing admissions, thru greater engagement, etc.

The doctors were completely uninterested. They would never trust patients self reporting.

I anticipate adoption will be driven by

#1 niche use cases, such as home blood glucose monitors, where the data gathering is automatic

#2 younger doctors more comfortable with the newer tech

The real use of phrs is for insurance and drug company data mining. Drug companies could perform mass retrospective trials very cheaply, and insurance companies could make huge quality/cost analyses, thereby "directing" healthcare cost and physician treatment.

As a doctor, I actually see these potentials as beneficial, though possibly restrictive for docs until medical education caught up.

Also, a lot of what is being done is automated monitoring. An algorithm can be developed to measure, for example, blood pressure, and if the patient deviates from acceptable ranges, the algorithm can trigger a contact to the patient, their healthcare provider, and family to begin an intervention to correct the bad blood pressure.

Adherance (doing it when you're supposed to) and validity (the measurements reported for Bob Smith are actually from Bob Smith) are big concerns, and there are also a lot of things done to ensure that the patient is doing their part correctly.

Many hospitals in the bay area run Epic so pushing data to your Epic EHR to help your GP with better decision making is a step in the right direction. The integration between PAMF hospitals that run Epic and how that data easily flows to my GP is already awesome. Sending additional data points should empower my GP to make smarter and better decisions related to my health.

Only last week my GP was wearing Google Glass. The adoption will happen fast. Now is the right time for this sort of tech adoption.

Wonder when Allscripts will come into the game.. hmm...

"Epic Systems has developed an integration with HealthKit, suggesting a framework for getting information collected via HealthKit into patients’ MyChart app. "

Then, of course, they'll transmit the results of your last HIV test to every advertisement network on the planet.

The funny thing is that here in Germany, where consumers are heavily protected, people are sceptical. But in the US of A, where a piece of information about your health status can make you uninsurable, people are rather enthusiastic.

It wasn't my favorite book, although I very much respected my Mom for getting it for me. It's an easy read. And it makes you realize what could potentially happen I suppose. It's like 1984 written in 2010. And the ending...well I won't spoil it. Probably worth the read for the reminder. And it is very engaging. A lot of my complaints are almost metaphysical in nature. In that it is very hard to describe definitively what my issue was.

In this case, it's about an e-mail account provided by Microsoft (an American company) but physically hosted in Ireland.

I really like that Apple hasn’t stepped in to offer some definitive hardware solution. I like this diverse market and I don’t necessarily think Apple should try that on their own. They seem quite intent on letting the market figure that out and letting others integrate nicely. I also hope that Apple keeps steady with that, even if they start selling their own wearables (though I think that’s less likely now).

Interoperability, standards, security, governance, (PAS) integration, health professionals mindset change are all required too – however, if EHR/EMR/PHR [clinical/enterprise] innovation is ever going to happen, it's going to be driven by consumers. I'm sure all the integration/interface engine vendors will be working over time for the next few months.

I especially liked this line :P ...

This paper from ACM Ubicomp 2013 concludes (as of ~2012), that iPhone (Moves App)performed worse than Nike+Fuelband, Nike+Sportsband, and Fitbit in tracking step-recording, with Fitbit performing the best.

It's showing people neat graphs, which they'll rapidly get bored with because at the end of the day once you're even slightly away from reinforcing the feedback loop of "how much of a good person am I by proxy of my exercise/weight/calories?" no one cares and people specifically do not want to know.

(a) IN GENERAL.—A group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage may not establish rules for eligibility (including continued eligibility) of any individual to enroll under the terms of the plan or coverage based on any of the following health status-related factors in relation to the individual or a dependent of the individual:

(1) Health status.

(2) Medical condition (including both physical and mental illnesses).

(3) Claims experience.

(4) Receipt of health care.

(5) Medical history.

(6) Genetic information.

(7) Evidence of insurability (including conditions arising out of acts of domestic violence).

(8) Disability.