Wondering whether to give Health Auto Export a try? Free Apps For Me is out with a review of the most important features you should know about.
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How Automated Apple Health Exports Help Older Adults and Their Doctors
According to a survey on Medical Economics, more than 55% of healthcare providers say that they are either planning to or already use remote patient monitoring (RPM), with 35% even saying they believe it will surpass in-patient monitoring in the next five years.
That said, 65% in the medical field believe that the key to more successful mainstream RPM is electronic health record integration — specifically, in the realm of 24-hour remote data collection and dissemination.
What Role Does Apple Health and Automated Exportation Play?
Two such tools that can significantly streamline and enhance RPM are Apple Health and Health Auto Export. In recent years, Apple Health has seen a rise in popularity, given its accessibility and accuracy in noting a person’s vitals. Just this year, given the aforementioned demand for RPM-supporting devices, Apple introduced new features specifically for eldercare. This includes recording walking steadiness and direct unified access to their health metrics on one platform. In fact, since 2019, several Medicare Advantage providers like Devoted Health have included Apple Watches in their coverage plans.
Meanwhile, to ensure that this collated health data is protected and delivered to senior healthcare teams regularly, the Health Auto App syncs and backs up all Apple Health data. Together, this creates a secure cycle of data collection, encryption, and dissemination, to create a vivid picture of a patient’s well-being remotely.
Advantages of Health Exports and Other Remote Tools
However, since using these remote health monitoring tools is still relatively new to mainstream healthcare, it’s still important to highlight their advantages for seniors unfamiliar with digitalization.
Complete and accurate data becomes accessible
The main goal for remote patient monitoring is to be able to create a secure and accurate record of a patient’s medical history, current condition, and ongoing progress. Using Health Auto Export, patients can automatically backup their health data onto the iCloud, and sync their Apple Health data to multiple iOS devices (e.g. Macs, iPads, iPhones). This ensures that there are no mix-ups with incorrect, missing, or even outdated patient information. That said, having medical data automatically uploaded and updated resolves the costly concerns around “dirty” patient data. This can cost providers up to $40 million in redundancies, and denied patient claims that can total to about $4.9 million.
Care plan creation and optimization becomes easier
When managing symptoms and optimizing care plans, physicians need easy access to patient data. This includes being alert to any important changes that may need immediate action. KelseyCare Advantage explains that since most senior health plans require the comprehensive action of several specialists under Medicare Traditional Plans and Advantage Plans, having a dedicated and concise platform makes it easier to share data. For instance, while Vision Services under Medicare Advantage can help seniors connect with an optometrist for diagnoses, they may require surgical treatments from an ophthalmologist. Therefore, for patients to fast-track their eligibility for these treatments, they can easily send over their complete medical data via remote health applications for the assessment of any health experts.
Continuity of care and patient outcomes improve
Health Tech reports that clinicians believe RPM can lead to better clinical outcomes, including lowered healthcare costs, sustained and adjustable care programs, and improved patient confidence. What’s more, according to a study on Springer regarding the elderly using wearable sensors for remote monitoring, it’s revealed that even the issue of bed blocking — which is where a patient who’s ready to be medically discharged has to extend their stay due to inadequate care and rehab outside of hospitals — can be relieved. This lessens the burnout of medical workers and the fees incurred in-hospital by patients.
Overall, automation and data exportation have proven to be massive innovations for seniors, homebound patients, and telehealth. With further adoption and increased education, we can expect an even smoother integration and a more accessible healthcare environment for patients across the globe.
User Story: "Exporting Apple Health Data to Home Assistant" — Theo Winter
In the User Stories series, we highlight ways in which users are taking advantage of the powerful features and flexibility of Health Auto Export.
In this edition, we share how Theo Winter used Health Auto Export, in combination with Home Assistant, to create home automations around his health data.
Theo wanted to analyze how different biological and environmental factors affect health, and he wanted to see how this data could be used to optimize his home set up.
Using Health Auto Export’s API Export made this possible. He could export historical data, and have new Apple Health data entries synced to his database automatically.
Hop over to his blog to see how you can also create a pipeline for health data automation in your own home.
Do you have a Health Auto Export user story you’d like to share? Tell us about it and we’d be happy to feature you!
User Story: “Taking Control of My Personal Health Data” — Jonathan LaCour
In the User Stories series, we highlight ways in which users are taking advantage of the powerful features and flexibility of Health Auto Export.
In this edition, Health Auto Export features the work of Jonathan LaCour, who created a personal dashboard to visualize his Apple Health data using AWS. The work behind the project is available on GitHub for others to adopt and adapt, and implementation process is further documented in this blog post.
Jonathan’s work gives great head start to anyone who wants to take control of their data, opening up new possibilities for creativity and self-assessment.
Would you like to share your User Story with Health Auto Export? Tell us about it via the contact form or on Twitter.
Apple Health Support on Mac and iPad Improved with Latest Update
Health Auto Export releases major updates on iOS and macOS bringing several improvements to data sync across Apple Devices.
Health Auto Export v5.0 for iOS introduces a free pricing tier that allows access to several powerful features users can take advantage of, such as Quick Export, for exporting multiple metrics and workouts at once, along with health widgets and automations via Shortcuts.
Along with the v2.0 for macOS, Health Auto Export also introduces a Premium pricing tier, which includes data syncing from iPhone to Mac and iPad, and the ability to export data on Mac and iPad. The Premium tier also includes Automated Backups and API Export, which allows automated exports to an external service.
Now, it’s possible to try before you buy! Get started with a free 7-day trial of Health Auto Export today.
View Apple Fitness Workouts on Mac and iPad
With version 4.7 of Health Auto Export, it is now possible to sync and view Workouts saved in Apple Health on iPad. Version 1.1 for macOS, now available, makes Workouts available on the Mac as well.
New data will automatically be synced across your devices, and if you wish to sync historical data from before you installed the app, this is possible as well.
Delve into several metrics associated with your workout, including, energy burn, all heart rate data, heart rate recovery, and workout routes where applicable. The iPhone app already provides some additional information, depending on the type of workout, such as step count and cadence, swim stroke count, and more, and these metrics will be coming to the Mac and iPad as well.
Many more exciting updates are in the pipeline, but there’s no need to wait.
Health Auto Export is available now on the App Store as a universal purchase. Hop on board!
Export Apple Health Data and Workouts to JSON
Version 4.5 of Health Auto Export is now available and brings several new export options in JSON format. This release expands JSON support to several existing export capabilities.
Users can now export individual health metrics or workouts, along with workout routes and metadata, to JSON format. Automated backups to iCloud Drive and bulk exports also gain JSON support.
Finally, API Exports will now include workouts, alongside health metrics, in both JSON and CSV format.
Head over to the App Store to grab the version 4.5 update.
Export Apple Health Data via API; Create a Personal Database; Integrate with Services
Health Auto Export introduces API Export, allowing users to export Apple Health data to any REST API URL. With this release, users are empowered more than ever before to fully capitalize on the wealth of information stored in Apple Health.
API Export allows users to create their own backups of health data to personal databases, or export data to analytics services to gain insights into their health.
For developers and health platforms, there is no longer a need to build from the ground up. Get a head start by integrating with Health Auto Export by giving users their own URLs and access keys, and the app takes care of the rest. For questions about integrating with Health Auto Export, get in touch here.
API Export is available in JSON and CSV format, providing a wide range of options and compatibility with APIs. Visit the documentation page for more information regarding usage and formatting.
Download version 4.4 of Health Auto Export on the App Store.
How to Export Apple Health Data on iPhone Using Shortcuts
Update Jan 8th, 2022: Health Auto Export supports direct integration and upload to Dropbox
Health Auto Export provides several options through which you can back up your Apple Health data. The most recent of those is the ability to trigger exports using Shortcuts.
While some power users may be extensively familiar with how to create and take advantage of shortcuts, not everyone falls into that category, and this post is here to help out those of you who aren’t. Follow along to find out how you can set up Apple Health exports to iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or any app that integrates with the Files app, using Shortcuts.
Step 1:
Open the Shortcuts app then select the Automation tab.
Tap the + button in the top right of the navigation bar to start creating an automation.
Select Create Personal Automation.
step 2:
You can select any of several trigger mechanisms for your automation. In this tutorial, we’ll select the Time of Day trigger.
STEP 3:
Next, you can select the time of day you’d like the trigger to fire, and how often you’d like the automation to repeat.
Let’s set up a weekly automation that runs every Sunday at 8:00 PM.
By default, all days are selected. In the day selector at the bottom of the screen, tap the circles for the days you want to disable.
Click Next.
Step4:
Time for the really fun stuff…
Select Add Action to begin adding steps the the shortcut automation.
You can search for the Create Folder action, then tap on it to add it to the shortcut.
Step 5:
Now you can configure options for where we will create and store backups when the automation is run.
For the Service parameter, you can use iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, or your preferred storage service provider.
In this case, select Dropbox.
For the Path parameter, you can then specify where the folder will be created. Create a Health Export backups folder by specifying the path as follows: /Backups/
Click the + button below to add another step.
Step 6:
Now, search for the Health Auto Export shortcuts.
Select the Run Health Export action.
As noted on the shortcut information tab, Shortcuts are intended to be lightweight and run quickly, thus they are limited to 10 seconds execution time 30 MB memory. You should, therefore, aim to design your shortcuts with this in mind.
Don’t try to back up months worth of data using a shortcut. Aim for monthly, weekly or daily backups.
Step 7:
Select the metrics you would like to backup. In this example, Active Energy, Heart Rate and Step Count have been selected.
Tap the Show More disclosure, for additional options.
Select “Hours” for Aggregation, and select “Previous 7 Days” for the Period.
These settings will result in a shortcut that exports data for the previous 7 full days on a weekly recurring basis.
Step 8:
Click the + button to add another action. Search for the Save File action, then select it.
This action will take the output from the previous step—the generated health data files—and save them to a specified location.
Once again, select the storage service provider. This should be the same selection as in Step 5.
Disable the Ask Where To Save option, then set the Destination Path parameter to match the Path parameter from Step 5 (/Backups/).
For most people leaving Overwrite if File Exists enabled should be the preferred option, but It can be disabled if you want to have multiple versions of an export.
Select Next in the top right navigation.
Step 10:
You have an opportunity to review the configuration of your shortcut before adding it on this screen.
It is strongly recommended that you leave Ask Before Running enabled.
Even though automations can run without any intervention on your part, iOS comes with the limitation that Apple Health data is encrypted and inaccessible when your device is locked.
This means that if the automation is triggered at a time when your phone is locked, no data will be backed up.
Select Done, and that’s it! You’ve created a simple but powerful automation that can backup your Apple Health data on a weekly basis.
You can repeat these steps for the Workouts shortcut in Health Auto Export to back up Workout data as well.
Personal automations cannot be shared via iCloud, however, you can use the link below to download a Shortcut containing the actions mentioned in this article:
Export Apple Health Data to Dropbox
To use the automation mentioned in this post, you will need Health Auto Export to CSV.
If you have any questions, get in touch here.
Automate Apple Health Exports Using Shortcuts
Version 4.3 of Health Auto Export is now live and brings Shortcuts support on iPhone.
With this update, you’ll be able to configure your own automations for Apple Health and Workouts exports. This provides the opportunity for a much more customized experience with Health Auto Export.
Set up alternate backup locations like Google Drive or Dropbox, or set up integrations to push exports to a web server.
Notably, there are some limitations enforced by iOS when running Shortcuts that users should be aware of—Shortcuts are limited to 30 MB memory and ~10 seconds execution time. This means configurations should aim to perform exports in small batches. If you experience issues running your shortcuts, try using a larger aggregation interval, a shorter time period, or try batching less metrics into once shortcut.
As always, feel free to get in touch with any questions or issues you encounter.
Get version 4.3 of Health Auto Export on the App Store with support for Shortcuts and syncing data across Apple platforms.
Apple Health Data on Mac and iPad? Get It Here!
Updated Jan 4, 2022: This post has been moved and updated. View it here
This week’s updates to Health Auto Export bring a long-awaited capability to Mac and iPad—the ability to view Apple Health data in an app!
Health Auto Export can sync Apple Health data from Apple Watch and iPhone to Mac and iPad via iCloud. With Health Auto Export, you’ll be able to sync your health data history for over 100 metrics to view on Mac and iPad in-app.
With these releases, users are able to see an hourly overview of the current day’s metrics, and daily summaries of over weekly, monthly and quarterly or custom timeframes. A dashboard for recent metrics has also been added displaying an overview of health data over the past 24 hours. This builds on the ability to see synced data for recent metrics in customizable widgets.
Additional metrics and more powerful features are on the roadmap for Health Auto Export on all platforms, so stay tuned!
If you’d like have a feature prioritized, get in touch here.
Get started with a free 7-day trial, then upgrade to Premium to continue syncing data, or continue to use the free features of the iPhone app.
Health Auto Export requires iOS 14, watchOS 7 and macOS 11 or later.
Health Auto Export Brings Apple Health Widgets to Mac and iPad
Since Apple Health was introduced way back in June 2014, iPhone users have been relishing the day that Apple would extend the app’s availability to other platforms, namely Mac and iPad.
This wish never materialized.
With the release of iOS 14 earlier this fall, Home Screen health widgets have been a popular hit with users, but these too have been essentially limited to the iPhone—until now.
Health Auto Export aims to solve these problems. For a long time, the app has focused on providing users with a way to get health data out of Apple Health through exports to CSV files—with over 80 different metrics currently available to export and more on the way. Recent updates introduced automated backups for health data and workouts to iCloud Drive as CSV and GPX files.
Health Auto Export now offers apps spanning across iOS, watchOS and macOS, bringing health widgets to the Mac and iPad. By enabling Auto Sync in the Apple Watch and iPhone versions, health metrics can be shared across a user's devices via iCloud.
Of course, privacy is of paramount importance. Data is synced directly and securely over iCloud, and is never sent to any other third party. The app contains no third party frameworks, and performs "destructive" updates, meaning previous data is always overwritten on each sync rather than persisting data indefinitely.
Health Auto Export is available on the App Store with support for Auto Sync and automated Apple Health backups. Health Auto Export requires watchOS 7.0, macOS Big Sur, and iOS 14.
Export GPX Routes for Apple Health Workouts
Version 4.1 - Export GPX Routes for Apple Health Workouts
Version 4.1 of Health Auto Export to CSV brings a new workouts detail page displaying more additional information about your workout sessions, and also brings the ability to export GPX route files for your outdoor workouts. If you have automated backups enabled, these data will be added to your automated workout exports with no extra work needed.
In this release, GPX data is included for outdoor running, swimming, cycling and hiking workouts, with support for more workout types in the works!
Grab the latest update to automatically backup your Apple Health Data!