Fitbit's tie-up with Google

Fitbit's shares have received a significant bounce following the announcement of an alliance with Google.

This collaboration is yet another example of the FAANGS' greater involvement in providing technological healthcare solutions (following on from the partnership between Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase & Co announced earlier this year).

Of particular note here is that Fitbit hopes to take advantage of Google's artificial intelligence capabilities. As an avid Fitbit user, I’ll be intrigued to see how AI will add to its UX - maybe more regular reminders that I've not met my 10,000 steps for the day?

Where it gets really interesting is that Google and Fitbit will be collaborating on electronic medical records - clearly there are data protection/GDPR concerns here, but if we can get beyond these, then perhaps many people would be happier paying reduced healthcare premiums if they could demonstrate, through wearing a Fitbit, that they did their daily exercises.

The content above was originally posted on CMS DigitalBytes - CMS lawyers sharing comment and commentary on all things tech.