Fitbit And Google Partner To Revolutionize Digital Health Accessibility And Patient Care

Fitbit and Google have announced that they have teamed up to innovate and transform the future of digital health and wearables. Fitbit will use Google's new Cloud Healthcare API to further integrate into the healthcare system by connecting Fitbit user data with electronic medical records (EMR). Fitbit says that combining its data with the EMR can give the clinician a more comprehensive view of the patient and improve care.

Both Google and Fitbit also hope to help users better manage chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension using Twine Health, a company that Fitbit recently acquired. Leveraging the Google Cloud Healthcare API will allow Twine to make it easier for the user and the doctor to collaborate on care and help to improve outcomes.

"Over the past decade, we have built an incredible foundation as the leading wearables brand, helping millions of people around the world make lasting behavior changes that improve their health and wellness through fun and engaging experiences. Working with Google gives us an opportunity to transform how we scale our business, allowing us to reach more people around the world faster, while also enhancing the experience we offer to our users and the healthcare system," said James Park, co-founder and CEO of Fitbit. "This collaboration will accelerate the pace of innovation to define the next generation of healthcare and wearables."

Fitbit says that its move to the Google Cloud Platform will help it to innovate and advance products and services, so it can scale faster. Google promises that its Cloud platform is "committed" to meeting requirements required for the healthcare industry with regards to security and privacy. That is a big deal to the healthcare organizations as leaks of protected health data could result in legal action and massive fines under HIPAA rules.

Google says that its Cloud products are HIPAA compliant including the Cloud IoT Core. There is no indication of when Fitbit will make the move to support Google Cloud or if it will only be supported on future products or can be supported on existing products with a software update, such as the recently announced Fitbit Versa wearable.

"At Google, our vision is to transform the way health information is organized and made useful," said Gregory Moore MD, PhD, Vice President, Healthcare, Google Cloud. "By enabling Fitbit to connect and manage key health and fitness data using our Google Cloud Healthcare API, we are getting one step closer to this goal. Together, we have the opportunity to deliver up-to-date information to providers, enhancing their ability to follow and manage the health of their patients and guide their treatment."