Dive Brief:
- Fitbit is stepping up its game in the clinical space with new health apps and clock faces to help users manage wellness and conditions like diabetes and certain cancers.
- The apps also provide new opportunities for clinical researchers, health plans and employers to support users as they go about their daily activities, according to the firm.
- The wearables giant said it is currently working with more than 18,000 developers to create content for Fitbit products.
Dive Insight:
Among the new apps and clock faces are:
- Dexcom, a diabetes management app
- Diplomat Pharmacy, providing medication management and prescription reminders for cancer patients
- Fitabase data collection platform to advance clinical research
- Limeade, an employee engagement app that offers tips on well-being
- Go365 by Humana, a wellness and rewards program
- One Drop, which provides blood glucose data from a digital platform
- Sickweather, providing forecasts on disease outbreaks in the user’s locale
Evidence that remote patient monitoring devices actually improve health outcomes has been mixed. A study in the journal Digital Medicine found RPM had no significant effect on six reported outcomes: body mass index, weight, waist circumference, body fat percentage, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. It showed more benefit when tied to healthy behavior models and personalized coaching.
The new tools complement existing apps in the Fitbit Gallery, such as Air Index, Blood Donor, Pill Tracker and Water Logged.
Fitbit has been moving in a more clinical direction from its origins as a fitness tracker. The company recently teamed up with Google to push patient-generated data into health records.
According to officials, the partnership will combine Google Cloud’s Healthcare API with Fitbit’s recently acquired Twine Health platform to connect user data and individual health records so doctors can tailor care to patients’ needs. As part of the effort, Fitbit will migrate to Google’s Cloud platform, enabling it to do more population health analysis.
The partnership comes as Apple is making medical records viewable on iPhones. More than 40 health systems have signed on to be part of that initiative.