Fitbit will be able to send collected health data directly to doctors enabling them to monitor the electronic records and real-time health data, as reported by TechCrunch. Recent acquisition of Twine Health by Fitbit and investments into Sano are helping the company to expand into healthcare worldwide via health plans, self-insured companies, sales, and subscriptions to the services. Twine Health is startup company which has created a platform to help manage chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. Sano is a company building small blood glucose monitors for continuous diabetic blood sugar monitoring.
Fitbit is considered to be king of mainstreaming wearable health based monitoring devices, selling over 70 million devices worldwide, such as belt worn pedometers and wrist worn activity trackers, as well as headphones and smart scales.
Currently Fitbit and Huami account for 80% of global activity trackers, but there are a few other companies that have made wearable monitoring devices such as GoPro, Xiaomi, and now Apple. Apple has entered the field making a similar device looking to further their monopoly, as well as inroads to medical studies on heart issues, strokes, and sleep apnea.
Google partnering with Fitbit suggests that this will make this a great product. Google hasn’t published figures on Android Wear smartwatches, but downloads of the Android Wear App have broken into the 10 millions in sales. Giving hope that teamed with the iconic Fitbit it will satisfy demand for legions of health conscious consumers which have been long awaiting a FitBit branded health based smartwatch.
