Apple has acquired health data startup Gliimpse, a move which could help to bolster its existing HealthKit app framework.
The three-year-old company collects US-based patients' medical records and other health information via pharmacies and laboratories in a single platform, allowing them to gain a better insight into their wealth of data and how their health changes over time.
Apple made the deal earlier in the year, and confirmed the purchase to Fast Company, saying: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
The free service encrypts any personal data which is identifiable to an individual separately from other users, and enables the sharing of records with trusted people.
Apple's Health app has been relatively quiet since its launch alongside iOS 8 in 2014. It was designed to draw data from the health and fitness apps on an iPhone or iPad into a single dashboard, which Apple hailed as the beginning of a health revolution.
In 2014 HealthKit was rolled out to hospitals in the US in a pilot programme to remotely monitor patients with chronic conditions while saving resources.
Personal information such as blood pressure, weight and heart rate was remotely transmitted to doctors, meaning they could closely monitors their patients without needing to admit them for care.
The company has made an effort to push the Apple Watch as a means of staying active and tracking movement through its activity rings function.
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