Apple and Anthem’s experimental asthma app shows early promise but its future is uncertain
New preliminary data suggest an experimental asthma app from Apple and Anthem helped reduce emergency department visits among people in the study on Medicaid.
Apple has for years promised that its devices can help people live healthier, but it has so far produced little concrete evidence of this benefit. Many of the company’s health tools are consumer features without strong ties to the health care system, so there often isn’t a health care outcome to measure as proof.
Nevertheless, Apple has embarked on several systematic studies exploring how its devices might be used to more directly improve health conditions, and after several years, one such effort is beginning to bear fruit: a large digital asthma study launched in collaboration with Anthem, the insurer that has since changed its name to Elevance Health. The companies are now beginning to release data from the study, which hints that the tool could potentially help the millions of people who struggle with asthma avoid the worst outcomes of exacerbations.
What's Your Reaction?
