Apple continues big push into healthcare

APPLE RECEIVED CLEARANCE from the Food and Drug Administration for its latest Apple Watch, which can now conduct electrocardiograms and deliver alerts if atrial fibrillation is detected.

“This is the first ECG product offered over the counter, directly to consumers,” Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams said during the company’s big product reveal Sept. 12. “You can now take an ECG anytime, anywhere, right from your wrist.”

The watch delivers a heart rhythm classification, telling the user whether their rhythm is normal or atrial fibrillation. The data are stored in the Health app on the iPhone. From there, users can share the data in PDFs with their physicians.

The watch and heart rhythm alerts fall under the FDA’s purview because they provide patients with ECG data. “The analytics potential of a fully medical-grade ECG on every Apple watch users’ wrist is significant, and would provide Apple with yet another hugely valuable data source on which to build additional services,” said Chris Steel, global healthcare lead at PA Consulting.

That capability also brings up new questions about privacy, said Angela Radcliffe, general manager of clinical trial solutions for PulsePoint. For instance, consumers may one day be able to monetize their health data, she said.

The new model can also detect falls. If it senses a fall has occurred, it sends an alert to the wearer with the option to place an emergency call. And if the wearer is immobile for a full minute, the watch will start the call automatically.

These new capabilities come during a busy year for Apple in healthcare.

In iOS 12, Apple’s latest iPhone operating system, the company will facilitate data transfer between its Health app and third-party apps.

The Health app data comes from more than 500 hospitals and clinics’ electronic health records, from which patients can pull their health information thanks to the FHIR data standard. Patients of select health systems have been able to do that since early this year.

Industry insiders expect Apple’s foray into EHRs to force traditional EHR vendors to open up access to data through open application program

● ming interfaces.