The Evolution of "Wearable Health Ecosystems" and Associated Partnerships

I am coming to understand that various types of "wearable health ecosystems" (i.e., wearable business models) are evolving. This is an important step in the creation of consumer-facing, healthcare/wellness systems. The latest example is that of Fitbit partnering with pharmaceutical companies (see: Fitbit collaborating with pharma giants Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer). Below is an excerpt from this article:

Fitbit and pharmaceutical giants Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer have inked a multiyear partnership to accelerate the detection and diagnosis of atrial fibrillation to reduce the risk of life-threatening events such as stroke. The collaboration will rely on Fitbit's afib detection software, which the tech giant plans to submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for regulatory review and approval. Once its afib detection software receives FDA clearance, Fitbit will work with the BMS-Pfizer Alliance to provide those who are alerted by the wearable device of a potential heart rhythm irregularity with appropriate information to help encourage and inform discussions with their physicians....The collaboration signals Fitbit's deeper push into healthcare...[T]he company announced a new premium subscription service for users that offers coaching and personalized insights mined from the health data it collects from 27.3 million users....In June, Fitbit announced a partnership with third-party app Cardiogram to integrate its health-monitoring application with the tech giant's wearables. Cardiogram's detection technology has been clinically validated to detect signs of conditions like diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and afib.

I have presented thus far in Lab Soft News three different examples of these ecosystems:

• The iPhone-Apple Watch ecosystem. Because of the size and power of Apple, it does not need any high-profile collaborators. It will obviously welcome the development of various health apps for installation on iPhones and also home-based diagnostic devices with connectivity to the iPhone. Regarding the management of such an evolving ecosystem, however, Apple will always be in charge.
• The Fitbit ecosystem. As noted in the excerpt above, this system will, firstly, emphasize various types of diagnostic software such as that used to detect cardiac irregularities using Fitbit monitoring and algorithms. The possibility of collaboration with pharmaceutical companies in this direction is self-evident. Secondly, Fitbit is also moving into the area of personal health services (see: Fitbit Moves into the Health Coaching Area with Fitbit Care; Fitbit Shifts Its Business Model Toward Services with Attention to Chronic Diseases). In this regard, the company will undoubtedly seek to collaborate with telemedicine providers and providers of behavioral health coaching. 
• The Sony connectivity ecosystem (see: Sony Develops Health Wearable Providing Connectivity, Stipulating That It's Not a Smartwatch). In this ecosystem and as discussed in this blog note, the company is emphasizing connectivity with home-based portable diagnostic devices, a relatively low price point for the wearable, and easy set-up and management for the various devices.

Another element in these wearable ecosystems, in the long run, will be collaboration with local health systems for patient referrals as home diagnostic monitoring becomes more sophisticated and urgent referrals to hospitals become more frequent.