Apple Pumps Up Health Push With Diabetes Device

Apple’s foray into the healthcare field continues with the introduction of a blood glucose monitor that will be sold in some of the company’s retail stores, according to a report by CNBC.

The device, called the OneDrop, will let users track their blood sugar through an integration with the Apple Health app, and also with the Apple Watch. It’s the first time Apple has sold the device in its stores, although it was available online before.

The move show’s Apple’s eagerness to break into the healthcare space and make the Apple Watch and iPhone more than just devices that send texts and surf the web.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been vocal about the company’s plans to infiltrate the health market. He said that the tech giant’s health offerings are going to be the company’s “greatest contribution to mankind.”

The CEO has talked about the company creating its own glucose monitor, and he’s also been seen testing a continuous glucose monitor, although he is not known to have diabetes.

“I think it’s great to have more consumer-friendly medical devices in the Apple Store,” said Aaron Neinstein, an endocrinologist at UC San Francisco. “OneDrop has embraced the fact that they’re part of people’s lives, and that includes their smartphone, and I wish other more traditional device makers would follow suit.”

OneDrop has a meter for readings and a mobile app that collects and integrates data. It also offers a subscription for the testing strips necessary to use with the device. In the app, users can buy coaching or get assistance with dietary needs or disease management.

The kit costs $69.95 and comes with a free year of coaching by a certified diabetes educator. OneDrop CEO Jeff Dachis said that he sees the device as a sign that the health industry moving in a new direction.

“I believe that Apple’s perspective on consumerized, data-driven self-care is where the industry is going to be pulled to, versus the expensive, bureaucratic, not-data driven current healthcare system,” Dachis said. “Our ability to align ourselves with that, and help drive that story, is what we see as the benefit of working with Apple.”