What's the story with HealthVault on Android?

Super quick post because it's just too much text to put into a tweet. ;)

We get the question a lot --- with the HealthVault iPhone, Windows Phone and Windows 8 mobile apps --- what's the story with Android? Because we're both app and platform, there are a few dimensions to the answer:

 

1. We DON'T have a "first party" HealthVault app built by Microsoft for Android. We get this request a lot, and my good friend Umesh keeps threatening to write one behind my back, but the reality for now is that we don't have plans to do this. Not that we don't want to ... we just have a long backlog and it's too far away to put a date to as yet.

2. We DO have an SDK that enables Android apps to connect to HealthVault, and there are about a half dozen or so that have done so. Take a look at our app directory and choose "Mobile / Android" to see the list. The most popular right now is iTriage, a great app that provides Android-native read only access to your HealthVault profile (and a lot more). We love Android developers so check out the SDK at https://msdn.com/healthvault and let us know if you run into problems!

3. As a fallback, the HealthVault web site does present pretty well on at least the Android tablet factors like the Nexus 7, and is usable if not ideal on phones as well.

 

Hope that, while not the answer I know a lot of folks are looking for, at least provides some clarity!

Comments

• Anonymous
  May 02, 2013
  Thanks Sean! I am trying to upload pictures of prescriptions I took into my healthvault account using my phone and it seems the only way to do it is to email them to myself, save the attachment on my computer, and then get them online...feels so 2003 ;-). But glad to hear you're working on it. Semi-related - any plans to integrate with nike+ ?

• Anonymous
  May 02, 2013
  Slightly better for pictures --- if you log onto http://healthvault.com with Chrome on your phone, then scroll to the very bottom of that page you should be able to choose "Switch to Desktop Site." From there, you can choose "Health Information" on the left side, then in the "More actions" dropdown in the upper right you can choose "Upload a file." In that dialog, when you pick "Choose File" one option will be to snap directly from the camera ... still a hassle for sure, but at least you don't have to involve another machine! We definitely want to include Nike+ data --- it's one of the few devices that we don't have connectivity to today. I just rebounced that up the list so we can take a look at what we'd have to do with Nike to make this happen. More asap!

• Anonymous
  May 14, 2013
  Sean - Thanks for the info.  I know I posted a similar question a couple of months ago.  On a related note, as you and I have discussed, I've selected Virtua Health Manager as the "front end" to HV for The Calabria Foundation due to its robust tracker features.  However, I'm finding it not very intuitive/user friendly.  What developer would you recommend for me to contact to write a custom app for us?  I've left emails for Get Real but haven't heard back yet.

• Anonymous
  May 14, 2013
  Hey Chris --- the Get Real solution is a super one; I pinged them to check their queue about your email. But there are other great alternatives as well; I'll drop you a quick note in email to suggest a few. Thanks!

• Anonymous
  June 25, 2013
  What is the point of using a native app if I still have to use the web site to add or change any data? I may as well just use the web site exclusively. The app doesn't add anything beneficial if it can't add to or update existing data. Wish I had known it was pointless before I signed up for iTriage...

• Anonymous
  August 23, 2013
  For those interested there is an Android app called myFitnessCompanion that connects to HealthVault and you can download all kinds of data and also upload data to HealthVault. Here is the link. www.myFitnessCompanion.com

• Anonymous
  March 27, 2014
  I agree with Peter that the myFitnessCompanion app is the best listed here for Android. On www.appbrain.com/search there is a more exhaustive list. Main difference between appbrain.com and play.google.com is that appbrain.com shows you all permissions & concerns and changelog (with date) of an app and integrates all Android Market Comments too so no need to use the play store.

• Anonymous
  April 24, 2014
  Surely Microsoft has the resources to write a native app for the worlds largest mobile user base if it wanted to. I think it is sad that Microsoft's politics against Google and Android extends into healthcare. I would think that the noble goal of helping people manage their health would extend above such things. I applaud Microsoft for the Healthvault service, but please support Android.