Apple Releases CareKit for Apps to Track Medical Records
On Thursday, Apple will release CareKit, an SDK for developers to create apps that allow users to track medical data and forward it to doctors. The first four apps created with CareKit have also appeared.
CareKit should appear on GitHub at a later date on Thursday, Fast Company reports. CareKit is an addition to the previously released ResearchKit, which allows scientists to release apps that help with research. The difference is that all developers can use CareKit, where ResearchKit cannot. CareKit includes code to track symptoms, plot on dashboards, and forward via fax, text, and email, among other things.
The first four apps based on CareKit appeared simultaneously. One allows users to track a pregnancy, another is to track data on the baby just after birth, and a third is to track symptoms of diabetes.
Hospitals must support CareKit for forwarding medical documentation to doctors. Whether and when that will happen is unknown. Apple announced CareKit last month at the presentation of the iPhone SE
.