Leading digital health company Livongo is working on developing new tools for Apple Watch and other wearables to help users live healthier lives.
The company’s new tools will help provide users with customized alerts regarding things like healthy eating, relaxation, and exercise.
Livongo was founded in 2014. Its initial technology focused focused on ways that people with diabetes can manage their disease.
“The company built its core business by selling its service to dozens of self-insured employers, including Amazon, Microsoft and Walgreens, as well as health plans. The insurers cover the cost, which means employees get Livongo’s service at no cost. Livongo now claims 164,000 active users, and is expected to be among the first so-called “digital health” companies to go public this year.”
The report gives an example of how Livongo’s new Apple Watch tool might work. In one instance, it could alert people with diabetes to take a blood sugar reading in the morning before breakfast. It could also send reminders such as suggesting people eat low-starch veggies for lunch.
In an interview with CNBC, chief product officer Amar Kendale says that the team has been working hard to get its “nudge”-based approach right. It thinks that it has cracked the problem in a way that will avoid “alert fatigue.”
A focus on health
Health-oriented features have helped drive Apple Watch to bigger and better heights. A recent report from Counterpoint Research said that Apple Watch sales grew 22% last year. “We believe its success was due to its focus on health-related features like ECG and fall detection,” said analyst Satyajit Sinha. “Further, it speaks volumes of how far Apple has come with Apple Watch as a meaningful health device.”
Tim Cook has talked about Apple’s contribution to health being a lasting legacy for the company.
