Dive Brief:
- Apple has followed up its March introduction of CareKit, its third open-source medical framework after HealthKit and ResearchKit, with the release of the first four CareKit apps and opening the platform to all developers.
- CareKit allows developers to design iPhone apps that help consumers manage specific medical conditions and communicate with their physicians.
- The step marks Apple's first true foray into healthcare vs. scientific research or basic health tracking, The Verge noted.
Dive Insight:
CareKit will be interesting to watch because of its aim at both consumers and physicians who would need to come together to fully benefit from the apps' assistance in tracking symptoms and progress.
The four apps released so far come from three companies Apple chose to access CareKit first.
One Drop created an app to track to help diabetes patients track their metrics, share anonymized data and communicate with physicians.
Glow used CareKit for its apps on pregnancy and infant development, Glow Nurture and Glow Baby, to allow users to communicate their data with medical personnel, family members and babysitters.
Iodine's application Start helps people track data on treating depression and evaluate whether they're getting the results they want from their medications.