Why Google is focusing its consumer health efforts on Fitbit – MedCity News

When it comes to consumer health, Apple has kept a step ahead of Google, between winning FDA clearance for an atrial fibrillation feature for Apple Watch, to adding a feature for people to manage their health records. But after its $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit, Google seems to be making the wearables company the focus of its consumer health efforts.

Recently, the company shuffled its health business, moving roughly 130 of its 700 workers to its Fitbit and Search divisions, according to a report by Business Insider. Fitbit will gain some of the teams that were working on health sensors and personal health records, according to the report. None of the remaining Google Health employees will be focused on consumer technology, leaving Fitbit to lead that charge.

Analysts interviewed by MedCity News said its no surprise that Google would focus its consumer health efforts on Fitbit, given the broad reach of its devices and its inroads with health plans.

The majority of Fitbits customers are consumers, which makes it important for both Google and Fitbit to focus on, Ramon Llamas, a research director at IDC covering mobile devices, wrote in an email.

But the company still faces a big challenge in elevating wearables beyond a nice-to-have device to something with clinical value.

If you look at what Apple is messaging or what Samsung is messaging with these deviceshealthcare or wellness is a must-have, said Julie Ask, vice president and principal analyst for Forrester.

Adding to analytics, wellnessIts difficult to know what all Google has planned for Fitbit. With Googles announcement of the acquisition, Googles senior vice president of devices and services said it would bring its software, hardware and AI expertise.

With Googles scale, Ask said its likely that the tech giant would be able to contribute some resources that Fitbit didnt have.

She and Llamas speculated that most new features would build on Fitbits health and wellness efforts, as well as the data collected by these devices.

While Fitbit started with more of a walled garden strategy, it may look to add more health services that can build on the wearable data users collect.

Its about services you can build around the insights, Ask said. Its not that unique that you can take my heart rate or detect an arrhythmia.

Fitbit also helps fill a big hole in Googles healthcare strategy. Whie it had struck some partnerships with smartwatch-makers, most of them didnt focus on wellness features. The companys own health and fitness app, Google Fit, also has not kept up, Llamas said.

Meanwhile, Fitbit has helped develop some of the best-in-class health and fitness applications out there. This seems like a clear fit for Google, he wrote.

Of course, one big challenge that Fitbit and its competitors face is taking these features beyond a wellness use case. Most wearable device users are affluent and active to begin with, according to a Forrester analysis, making them less likely to reach people with the most health needs.

And even with FDA-cleared indications, most doctors still dont use data from the devices in their practice.

These are still primarily wellness devices, Ask said. Doctors dont trust the data uniformly and they arent used day-to-day by MDs. Its not the primary thing thats informing their decisions about treatment.

Googles broader health strategyThis isnt the first time Alphabet has switched up its health efforts. It previously rolled DeepMinds health team into Google Health, and its other major healthcare effort, Verily, also shuffled its leadership last year.

The company has tested a variety of projects, from trying to build a consumer-facing health records tool, to attempts to build an AI tool to screen for diabetic retinopathy. Not all of them have been successful.

Its harder to know what Alphabets strategy is, Ask said. Theyre more likely than Apple to put out a lot of different bets.

For its part, Google shared few details about the restructuring. In an email, the company stated that it had brought together some teams to combine expertise and focus our efforts on health and wellness.

The remaining Google Health team will build products for clinicians, conduct research and ensure all-health related projects at the company meet high standards.

Photo credit: Fitbit

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Why Google is focusing its consumer health efforts on Fitbit - MedCity News