Zimmer Biomet partnered with Apple to launch a mobile app that will connect knee and hip replacement patients to surgical teams and follow them through the episode of care.
Here are four things to know:
1. Patients will be able to access the app, currently in production, through the Apple Watch or iPhone. Called mymobility, the app will allow surgeons to send education and therapy reminders directly to patients. They can also monitor the patient's activity levels in preparation for and recovering from surgery.
2. Zimmer Biomet also began a clinical study of the app's impact on patient outcomes and overall costs for joint replacement. Patients will use Zimmer Biomet mymobility with the Apple Watch and researchers will gather patient-reported feedback as well as continuous health and activity data to examine the app's impact. The company aims to enroll up to 10,000 participants in the U.S.
3. There are several hospitals, academic medical centers and physician practices participating in the study. The hospitals include Newport Beach, Calif.-based Hoag Orthopedic Institute and Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital. Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton, Mass., and Porter Hospital-Colorado Joint Replacement in Denver will also participate.
The academic medical centers involved include Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health, Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center, Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania Health System and Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare.
4. The physician groups and ASCs participating include Oregon City, Ore.-based ROC Orthopedics, Bethesda, Md.-based OrthoBethesda, Gilbert, Ariz.-based OrthoArizona, and Panorama Orthopedic and Spine Center in Golden, Colo.
"We are proud to enable knee and hip replacement patients to use their own data and share it with their doctors seamlessly, so that they can participate in their care and recovery in a way not previously possible through traditional in-person visits," said COO of Apple Jeff Williams.