Microsoft is again getting out of the consumer space by shutting down Microsoft HealthVault and focusing their health efforts more on the enterprise side. Microsoft emailed out information about the HealthVault shut down to users saying “The Microsoft HealthVault service will be shut down as of November 20, 2019. Data you have in your HealthVault account will be deleted effective November 20, 2019. If you wish to keep the data in your account, you need to take action now to transfer that data from your HealthVault account.” Microsoft has suggested users who want to keep using HealthVault like services to migrate their data to other personal health record services like Get Real Health and FollowMyHealth. HealthVault was initially started with the mission of allowing patients to collect their own data with heavy hitter partners including the American Heart Association, Johnson & Johnson and Allscripts and Walgreens. Microsoft struggled with creating a sustainable business model around HealthVault and integrations with companies like Fitbit were abandoned over the years. Microsoft HealthVault did not fail on its own Google Health was launched in 2008 and ended three years later because of low user adoption. Google even went as far as to suggest HealthVault as an option when their service shutdown. Since its launch in 2018, Apple Health Records system has signed up more than 140 providers and health system partners and recently struck a deal with the VA to provide personal health records for veterans. I think with the success of Apple Health and Apple Watch its safe to say Apple will probably get this market as Microsoft Band is dead and Google Wear OS has had little to no adoption in recent years.
