Featuring posts written by the DoseSpot e-Prescribing Integration Team!

Honing in on HealthKit: An App Review

Posted: November 25th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Basics, In the News | Tags: , , , , , , , , | No Comments »
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A few weeks ago, MobiHealthNews rounded up an updated list of the health and wellness apps that connect to Apple’s HealthKit, a health and fitness data exchange that facilitates data sharing between iOS apps. With a total of 137 apps, MobiHealthNews analyzed the ways in which these apps integrate with HealthKit—some only pull data, some only push data and about 20 percent do both. When all analyses were complete, the major point discovered was this: while HealthKit makes it possible to share dozens of different types of health and fitness data, most apps make use of the same few data points. Active calories and weight data are both among the top three most popular data types to push or pull from HealthKit. Take a look below to see the full results!

Number of apps pushing various kinds of data (or “writing”) to Apple HealthKit.

  • 34 percent of HealthKit apps (46) are pushing active calories data.
  • 20 percent of HealthKit apps (28) are pushing weight data.
  • 18 percent of HealthKit apps (25) are writing heart rate data.
  • 18 percent (24) are pushing workouts data to HealthKit, even though the Apple Health app doesn’t have such a field.
  • 15 percent of HealthKit apps (21) are feeding step count data into the platform.
  • 15 percent (20) are sharing walking and running distance data with HealthKit.
  • 10 percent of HealthKit apps (14) are pushing out sleep analysis data.
  • 9 percent (12) are sharing nutrition data with the HealthKit ecosystem.
  • 8 percent (11) are pushing out blood pressure data with HealthKit.
  • 7 percent of HealthKit apps (9) are writing cycling distance data.

Number of apps pulling various kinds of data (or “reading”) from Apple HealthKit

  • 23 percent of HealthKit apps (32) are pulling weight data.
  • 16 percent (22) are integrating step count data from HealthKit.
  • 12 percent (17) are using active calories data from the platform.
  • 10 percent of HealthKit apps (14) are using heart rate data pulled from the system.
  • 10 percent (14) are pulling down blood pressure data from HealthKit.
  • 9 percent (13) make use of walking and running distance data retrieved from HealthKit.
  • 9 percent (13) are pulling nutrition data from HealthKit.
  • 9 percent of HealthKit apps (12) are using sleep analysis data from the platform.
  • 7 percent of HealthKit-connected apps are using the platform to pull in a user’s height.
  • 7 percent (9) are pulling in a user’s birthdate from HealthKit.

SOURCE: MobiHealthNews

About DoseSpot 
DoseSpot is a Surescripts certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot is certified to e-Prescribe controlled substances and has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.

The Health Tracking Race: Who Will Win?

Posted: June 30th, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: In the News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »
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Ready to get fit from the comfort of your own smartphone or tablet? Recent developments in the tech sphere likely have you covered. Over the past few weeks, three major players in the digital health industry–Google, Apple and Samsung–have unveiled newly polished, fitness-ready consumer health apps for public viewing. The initial verdicts on Google Fit, Samsung’s Gear Fit, and Apple’s iOS 8 Health app are officially out. Take a look below to see what consumers are saying:

 

Google Fit 

Google Product Manager Ellie Powers describes the new Google Fit platform at the 2014 Google I/O, Google’s annual developers’ conference held in San Francisco.

 

Basics: fitness and health tracking platform for Android smart devices. Google Fit will aggregate users’ fitness data in one place, and sync data from popular wearable devices created by Nike, Adidas, and more.

Pros: comprehensive data analysis in one location, complete picture of users’ fitness and better tracking of fitness goals, single set of APIs for all health products.

Cons: too similar to already-existing data aggregation platforms, failure to address how medical professionals might access this data, potential compatibility issues.

 

Gear Fit by Samsung

 

 

Basics: a wearable activity-tracking wristband with a heart rate monitor, pedometer, and flexible display screen. Well-suited for basic activities such as running, walking, cycling, and hiking.

Pros: excellent display resolution, customizable screen features (backgrounds and clock face), changeable watch bands, compatible with at least 17 Samsung smartphones and tablets, notable ‘smartwatch’ features (phone call, text message, and email alerts).

Cons: error-prone and “bare bone” activity trackers, faulty mileage calculations, very low battery life (vs. JawBone and FitBit models), poor accessibility (requires bulky “charging cradle”).

 

Apple iOS 8 Health

     

 

Basics: iPhone app that allows users to collect biometric information (i.e. heart rate, blood pressure, etc.) and automatically send it to doctors or hospitals via the Medical ID feature.

Pros: comprehensive set of activity trackers (fitness, nutrition, sleep patterns, blood glucose levels, cholesterol levels, etc.), customizable and seamless user interface.

Cons: performance concerns with exchange of medical data (physicians bombarded with low-priority data and patient compliance issues).

Sources: TechCrunch, Apple, and The Verge. 

 

Need more convincing? Engage your critical consumer eye with these helpful articles:

Gear Fit by Samsung: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2014/06/22/samsung-gear-fit-review-a-combined-fitness-band-and-stylish-smartwatch-for-your-galaxy-smartphones/

Google Fit: http://news360.com/article/243439279

Apple iOS 8 Health: http://9to5mac.com/2014/06/02/a-closer-look-at-ios-8s-health-app-video/

 

About DoseSpot

DoseSpot is a Surescripts™ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, electronic dental record, practice management and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided simple, affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to healthcare IT companies since 2009. For more information, please visit www.DoseSpot.com.