Until this week, the Redwood City, Calif.-based startup Gliimpse may have been any other digital health company with a compelling idea and a Silicon Valley-style name. But, as Fast Company reports, Gliimpse was bought by Apple earlier this year, a deal that's been kept under wraps until now.
Gliimpse is built on the idea that patients should have say over who sees their medical information, and how it is securely shared anywhere at any time. It also enables users to aggregate data from multiple portals and add documents and other files to their records before sharing. While Apple is mum about its intentions for Gliimpse, it seems possible the purchase could advance Apple's interest in developing its consumer-directed health offerings.
Earlier this month, leaked plans for a brand new health wearable developed by Apple flooded the internet, and the company has declared its intentions to follow through on Steve Jobs' request that it pursues ways to improve the healthcare industry. The tech giant has also billed its CareKit, HealthKit and ResearchKit platforms as resources for hospitals, clinicians and researchers to conduct a variety of studies related to population health and healthcare.
While the acquisition hasn't yet been announced on LinkedIn or Apple's site, it did confirm the purchase to Fast Company, stating "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."
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