Articles

Apple, Mayo Clinic Team Up On New Health App

How healthcare organizations are edging ever closer to consumers

Behind the headlines dominated by wearables, phones, and payments at this week’s announcement, Apple’s continued foray into healthcare passed with relatively little fanfare. Having announced few details about its new healthcare software, Healthkit, back in June at the Worldwide Developers conference, Tuesday’s launch revealed how Apple’s software will help physicians practice better medicine. The new Health app, developed in partnership with Epic Systems and the Mayo Clinic, one of the most highly valued healthcare brands on the planet, claims to be “an entirely new way to use your health and fitness information.”¹The new system will collect, store, and share data from compatible third-party apps like the Mayo Clinic’s, allowing consumers to access all of their health data in a single place. In addition, the new app integrates with leading wearable products such as Nike+, Fitbit, and Wahoo Fitness.
The partnership between Apple and Mayo points to the increasing role that technology is playing in empowering consumers to make more informed decisions by putting them in control of their data. It is also another indicator of the way healthcare organizations are elevating their brands through high-profile collaborations.

It’s also a great example of a collaboration that brings together the complementary strengths of both brands. Mayo will gain by enhancing its already stellar brand reputation at the forefront of the mobile healthcare trend, not to mention gaining access to millions of Apple brand loyalists. Apple benefits by showing how it continues to evolve its tech leadership position, unafraid to partner with others in entering categories where it has less experience (as demonstrated in its recent partnership with IBM). Ultimately, Apple has found another way to gather information seamlessly that can improve routine aspects of consumers’ lives (think of wearable Apple products that automatically track the steps you take per day or monitors your heartbeat then loads the information into HealthKit).

Even before the full effects and benefits of HealthKit and the Health app can be quantified, it has accomplished one thing: The Apple and Mayo Clinic partnership is sure to be raising conversations around the exponential power of brand collaborations at organizations across the country.

To learn more about healthcare branding visit our site.

Gabriel Cohen is Monigle‘s Chief Marketing Officer.