With an aim to revolutionize the healthcare industry and enabling the common man or patients track their health statuses, Google and Apple are coming up with highly-advanced health-related applications for wearable gadgets. Technology is being used for optimizing the healthcare procedure observed in clinics and hospitals as well. If patients are able to monitor their health and manage chronic diseases on their own, it will have a direct effect on their insurance; they will have to pay lesser premiums and it will also lead to incurring low healthcare costs.
Google's Breakthrough Development for the Healthcare Industry
Google offers a service named 'Helpouts' through which people can video-chat with a medical expert while they search for symptoms. A trial program is being run too in which people who are searching for symptoms like common cold or pink eye can seek assistance from a doctor through video-chat. One Medical and Scripps are two of the medical groups that are making their doctors available to Google Inc. for this service. The company has also acquired Lift Labs which is the maker of high-tech spoons for people who suffer from hand tremors.
Google unveiled 'Calico' in 2013 to help combat diseases related with aging. Calico operates independently but it receives funding from Google. Interestingly, Calico is headed by Apple Inc. chairman and former Genentech CEO Arthur D. Levinson. Calico has also teamed up with drug maker AbbVie Inc.to find new drugs and treatments for diseases such as Cancer and Alzheimer's. Approximately $1.5 billion will be spent by the two companies for this project.
Partnership between Google and NASDAQ AG
Google has contributed a lot to the healthcare industry as compared to any other app developers. Recently, Google partnered with Swiss drug-maker NASDAQ AG to develop contact lenses named 'Smart'. These lenses will be effective in tracking blood glucose levels and restoring the eye's ability to focus. Google Inc. and NASDAQ AG have claimed that the effective micro-technology integrated into 'Smart' contact lenses can be life-changing for patients suffering from diabetes. They won't have to prick their finger every time they want to check their glucose levels or track sugar production by their body.
It is being said that this new product will give Google an edge over Apple Inc. The lenses will have non-invasive censors, microchips and miniature electronics. According to GlobalData research, the niche market for this product will become worth $12 billion by 2017 and it will have a positive impact on 382 million diabetes patients across the globe.
Apart from helping diabetes patients, these lenses can also be used for dealing with prebyopia, a problem where old people face difficulties in focusing on nearby objects.
Apple's Offerings to the Healthcare Industry
HealthKit was the latest offering by Apple Inc. in collaboration with Mayo Clinic. This health-monitoring app was announced with Apple's new iOS 8 operating system. This application enables the user to log statistics of heart rate, footsteps and sleep activity. It can also pull in data from other health-monitoring hardware or fitness apps. Heath-monitoring app makers can integrate with HealthKit and make care provision easier. With the help of this integration, if a patient's heart rate or blood pressure will seem concerning, the associated hospital will get notified by the health tool and a doctor will be assigned the work of attending or replying to the patient.
Apple Inc. has been making efforts to collaborate with healthcare providers and doctors for enabling them to practice better medicine. For instance, the company has established a partnership with Epic, which manages approximately 51% of the US patient records. Through this partnership, Apple has been able to absorb health data of 50% patients in the US.
'iWatch' launched by Apple will also help in quality care provision. This watch will collect health-related data such as blood glucose level, sleep activity, blood oxygen level and consumption of calories. Users will also be able to receive notifications from their phone through this gadget.
The company's footprints can already be seen in hospitals and medical practices in the form of iPhone and iPad apps. Growing interest has been seen in doctors using EHR apps that are tethered to the Cloud and not to the desktop applications. It is gaining popularity among healthcare providers who are looking for effective ways to document patient data.
Jessica Parker is a Consultant & Healthcare expert at MedicalBillersandCoders.com. Her 10 years of expertise in the said field makes her a well-informed professional.
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