Reuters – September, 2014
SAN FRANCISCO: Cerner and Athenahealth — two leading US electronic health record providers — said they are working with Apple to develop applications that leverage Apple’s mobile health service HealthKit.
Cerner and Athenahealth representatives said they are building integrations with HealthKit and working with Apple. Previously, Apple announced a partnership with rival electronic health record company Epic Systems. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
The goal is to help doctors monitor patients with chronic conditions from home and identify health risks. HealthKit gathers data from various applications and devices, including blood pressure cuffs, accelerometers and glucose measurement systems, and makes it easier for doctors to view it all in one place.
Across the US, hospitals are rolling out pilots using HealthKit to improve preventative care, and potentially cut costs.
Cerner, Epic and Athenahealth are central to these plans, as the patient-generated data is ultimately stored in the electronic health record.
Both Athenahealth and Cerner have developed mobile applications targeted at patients. HealthKit-compatible versions of these apps will be available on App Store when Apple fixes a bug that forced health developers to pull their apps on Wednesday.
Apple said it was working to address the bug. The HealthKit apps will be available by the end of the month.
An Apple spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about the company’s new HealthKit partners.