CareKit is an open-source framework, much like ResearchKit, which will power apps that give you the ability to monitor symptoms, track medication, and stay on top of care plans following a surgery or medical diagnosis.
Each app will include a detailed Care Card, with instructions for diet, movement, medication, bandaging, physical therapy, and other treatment categories. The apps will provide weekly insights into your recovery—for instance, if you’re carefully monitoring your meds and entering that data in the app along with a pain score, you’ll be able to see whether the treatment plan you’re following is working.
“CareKit empowers people to take a more active role in their care,” said Apple Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams during Apple’s spring event on Monday. “The first CareKit app is for Parkinson’s. People can start understanding better what affects their heath.”
That Parkinson’s app is available today, and research institutes like University of Rochester Medical Center, UCSF, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford Medicine are already using it. More apps are coming, including the One Drop diabetes app, a chronic conditions app from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and a post-surgical care app from Texas Medical Center, so your doctors can adjust your recovery plan if they can tell from the app that it’s not going well.
The first slate of CareKit apps will hit the App Store in April.