Apple iOS 8 Health App Review
Apple’s revolutionary new health app, simply named "Health,” is officially launched. Initial bugs in their HealthKit for app developers and concerns about privacy muddled its mega-introduction but this groundbreaking entry into digital medicine is now here and definitely worth checking out.
Health is an app that acts like a data warehouse for all your health and fitness information. Basically, it stores and aggregates health information from your various third party apps, medical devices, and fitness trackers in one convenient, centrally located application. This makes it easier to access all of your information without toggling through multiple apps in order to view the big picture of your overall health statistics. But there’s more, information of your choosing from your compatible health and fitness applications can be shared between apps and with your designated healthcare professionals through the functionality of the HealthKit framework. HealthKit will empower developers to integrate with the Health app as well as with other compatible apps, even if they are produced by different developers or manufacturers.
The first batch of apps for Health is now available in the Apple App Store, with anticipation of more to be added daily. Some of the initial apps to join the Apple Health collection are:
• 7 Minute Workout- 12 high intensity bodyweight exercises, 30 seconds per exercise, 10 seconds rest between exercises.
• Carrot Fit- Boot camp style humor for weight tracking.
• Centered- A holistic wellness app focused on fitness tracking and meditation.
• Fitnet Personal Fitness Workouts- 200+ free video fitness workouts with webcam scoring.
• Human- An all-day activity tracker and calorie counter that inspires you to move 30 minutes or more every day.
• iHealth- Announced that three of their mobile health apps (My Vitals, My Vitals 2.0 and SpO2) and nine corresponding personal mobile health devices are now integrated with HealthKit and have the ability to share information with practitioners, with the user’s permission.
• Map My Run- GPS running, jogging, walking and workout tracking as well as a calorie counter.
• MotionX 24/7- Sleeptracker with sleep cycle alarm, snore, apnea and heart rate monitor as well as weight loss and activity tracking.
• My Fitness Pal- Calorie counter & diet tracker with more than four million foods in its database.
• UP- Personal fitness tracker including sleep monitoring and calorie intake tracking.
Health puts you in charge of your own health data and makes it available with just a tap. You can choose to share information with your practitioner, such as allowing your doctor to automatically receive data from your blood pressure app, and you can create a Medical ID emergency card with information such as allergies, blood type, medications and who to contact in case of an emergency that’s available to first responders right on your lock screen. It also enables you to manage what you are tracking from multiple fitness devices and nutrition apps and have them all work together. The choice is yours as to which apps you would like to include for the monitoring of your overall personal wellness.
Health App Features
Health is a central gathering place for all of your health and fitness data. In the past, you would need to open and manage each individual app in order to access the information provided by each. Now you can just open one app and see all of your relevant health data quickly and easily.
You can keep track of information such as diagnostic tests, lab results, medications, vital signs, and information from various apps regarding fitness, nutrition, activity, and sleep. Various information categories will be displayed in "cards" that you can touch to access more detailed information about each category. Easy to view buttons at the bottom of the screen allow you to quickly access the dashboard, health data, sources, and your Medical ID.
Among the viewable statistics are heart rate, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, cholesterol levels, sleep stats, mood, body fat, calories consumed, calories burned, steps tracked, distance tracked, body measurements, caffeine intake, weight changes, and more. You can choose which information you would like displayed, so that the information that is more important to you, or that you use more frequently, is better displayed for your convenience.
The sources button allows you to access the various compatible apps and their permissions that you approve and designate to work with Health to provide your information. From here you can grant different levels of permission to each app so that you control which app has access to which information.
Medical ID provides a medical overview in case of emergency. You can choose to make this information available from the lock screen for emergency medical personnel if you are unable to unlock your device for the information. While there might be concern for privacy since the information can be accessed when the phone is locked, you control what information is entered on the Medical ID page.
Pros
· With Health, you do not need to open numerous different apps if you wish to get abetter idea of your overall health or fitness progress. All of the information you want can be reached through the one app. You can choose which information you want to display.
· You choose permissions for each app individually, so only certain apps have access to each type of information.
· The sharing of information between apps can help each app provide you with better or more relevant information. For example, a fitness app can benefit from knowing your heart rate, weight, or nutrition to make better, more personalized recommendations for better athletic performance.
Cons
· Because this system is entirely new, it will take time before some of the problems become more apparent.
· Health does not provide any fitness information on its own. You need to have compatible apps that gather the information to be viewed in health. You will most likely need multiple different apps to get all of the information you want.
HealthKit For Developers
HealthKit is a tool for developers and manufacturers to create apps that are compatible with the Health app. HealthKit allows for the sharing of information, not only across apps, but to medical providers as well. Apps created with the HealthKit framework will be able to work with the Health app. Apple has some fairly strict requirements on which apps will be eligible to use HealthKit.
Features
HealthKit allows the sharing of information between compatible apps. HealthKit also controls the privacy settings in Health and creates more user security by allowing the selection of individualized settings for each app and device used with Health. This can control the flow of information between apps for security and privacy.
As far as sharing information with medical professionals and assuming your medical care provider leverages the technology, you can choose if you wish to push your health and fitness data to that healthcare provider. If you have a health condition that should be monitored, this will give your doctor information in real time to get a better idea on your treatment progress and if any modifications are needed.
Pros
· HealthKit will only be available to developers and manufacturers whose apps meet stringent privacy and security guidelines to help protect user information.
· HealthKit allows health information to be shared with medical professionals.
Cons
· Even with strict controls, there may be a way to access private information.
· The information is only as good as the app or tracker. There is the concern over faulty information being shared.
· Your health care provider may not be aware or open to using the technology anytime soon.
Privacy
Apple states: When your phone is locked with a passcode or Touch ID, all of your health and fitness data in the Health app is encrypted. You can back up data stored in the Health app to iCloud, where it is encrypted while in transit and at rest. Apps that access HealthKit are required to have a privacy policy, so be sure to review these policies before providing apps with access to your health and fitness data.
Compatibility
Along with the apps featured here and a collection that is continuing to grow, corporations such as Mayo Clinic and Epic Systems, a major provider of electronic medical records, have already partnered with Apple. More are soon to follow.
Associated Cost
While Health comes with the new iOS 8 operating system, others will need to obtain the app on their own. Also, additional compatible apps and devices to gather each type of information will be needed.
