An Apple iPhone App a Day Keeps the Doctor Away? Apple Debuts ‘Healthkit’
Apple Inc, the iconic technology brand, has released a new Apple iPhone app called “Healthkit” as part of its new feature upgrades on iOS8, the software for its mobile devices.
Healthkit will be able to track users’ data including weight and blood pressure as well as other health and fitness statistics.
“The company will work in tandem with Nike Inc, a major player in fitness tracking, and the Mayo Clinic on the new feature, which will be included with the latest versions of Apple’s mobile software,” reported Reuters.
Users will see “Health” appear on their iPhone or iPad home screens where they can access a dashboard to review all of their collected health information on a daily basis.
Up until now, according to Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, that type of information was stored in “silos” making it difficult for users to get “a single comprehensive picture,” Reuters noted. The goal of Healthkit is to help users collate all that health data from various platforms onto their mobile devices for quick access.
The Mayo Clinic, one of several healthcare providers partnering with Apple on the program, will be able to send and receive data from users’ checkup visits to the app.
Some rumors are already circulating about Healthkit, suggesting it will eventually work in tandem with the highly anticipated, but yet to be seen, debut of the iWatch, which would be able to track certain vital signs of the wearer.
The announcement of the new Apple iPhone app comes just after new data published in The Lancet found that 2.1 billion people around the world—one-third of the planet’s population—are either overweight or obese.
Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger
Related on Organic Authority
8 Apps to Make Your iPhone 5 a Green Machine
iPhone App Puts Organic Food to the Test…Literally
5 Food Apps that Make Eating Fresh and Healthy a Snap
Image: the verge