Apple iWatch HealthKit integration more than a rumor with new Apple partnerships in the medical sector

HealthKit integration seems to be more than a rumor, with Apple recently partnering with a number of healthcare providers expected to participate in data analysis and research towards Apple highly anticipated service.

According to this article by Mobile Health News, Cleveland Clinic is partnering with Apple, to supply medical expertise and data during the development stage of HealthKit, among other research facilities.

Yet Apple might have very solid reasons to keep certain partnerships on the “down-low”, as a very recent article by IdeaStream.org reports of serious and repeated misconducts by Cleveland Clinic, pointing to over 23 health and safety issues.

Partnering with Apple in the success of HealthKit is a golden opportunity, as the new software platform allows patients to manage their health-care information effectively and creates a lifeline with their clinicians. By this token, Apple is certainly not short of options, as it’s currently in talks with Stanford, Mount Sinai, UCLA Health, Johns Hopkins, Kaiser Permanente and Duke Medicine, among the most prominent.

While the release of the iWatch still tentatively set for Fall this year, is it understandable how Apple may need to take its time with a service that has the potential to affect not only consumers, but also future healthcare legislations, as the iWatch, or any other HealthKit supported device released by Apple, could be more than a gadget, but a tool for physicians to diagnose patients quicker and more accurately, even on the field.

A wearable device able to access a person’s entire health history over the Internet, as well as monitor current health conditions, is invaluable, especially to field personnel, like paramedics, who could integrate it with their equipment.