Open Health Stack is made available by Google for programmers

Google recently unveiled Open Health Stack, a brand-new open-source platform for app developers to create health-related applications. These resources, which were introduced last week at the company’s ‘The Check Up’ special event, include an Android Software Development Kit (SDK) and design standards for health apps.

The Fast Healthcare Interoperability Standards (FHIR) standards, according to the search engine giant, constitute the foundation of the stack. This makes it simpler for developers to collect the data and for healthcare professionals to access it. Numerous significant electronic health record (EHR) providers have embraced FHIR.

With the support of the Open Health Stack, developers may create safe, offline-capable apps for Android, as well as use FHIR Analytics to gain understanding of the framework’s complicated structure, as well as the FHIR Info Gateway to grant different stakeholders role-based access to data. The latter two parts are in early access, and Google is adding new functionality to both of them.

 

According to Fred Hersch, senior product manager at Google, “This set of components makes it easier for developers to quickly build apps allowing healthcare personnel to access the information and insights they need to make informed decisions”.

The World Health Organization and Google collaborated to create this stack in order to ensure that the tools adhered to the organization’s guidelines for creating Android apps. The corporation further asserted that the developer tools adhere to the best principles for data privacy set forth by the Digital Public Goods Alliance.

According to Google, several international partners, including Ona, IPRDSolutions, Arguso, and Intelliso, have already developed several solutions that are utilized in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.

In contrast, Apple’s HealthKit API does not use open-source software, but it does accept FHIR endpoints.

In order to launch the Health Connect project, Google and Samsung established a partnership last year. This allowed users to effortlessly share their health and fitness data across apps. Although while the new Open Health Stack integrates with the Android ecosystem, its primary focus is on assisting healthcare professionals who work in distant locations to collect and access patient data.

Together with these new developer tools, Google today also unveiled a new search tool for Americans that will aid in locating medical facilities that provide free or inexpensive care.