Fitbit Wearables Becomes HIPAA-Compliant, Target to Offer Fitbits to Employees

Target officials say they’ll give their 335,000 employees a free Zip clip-on tracker, which costs $59.95, or they can purchase one of the more advanced wristbands, with the company subsidizing the cost. Analyst Brad Erickson believes that the latest deal with Target would allow Fitbit to expand further in the corporate wellness category.

Target will work with Fitbit Wellness on not just the devices, but also the backend software that allows corporate to compare the activity of different employee populations and run challenges and competitions that encourage employees to move more. Workers who opt in will be organized into teams for a competition with the winning team able to select a charity to receive a $1 million donation. Having this compliance could push Fitbit into the corporate market, while others are incapable of making deals with the businesses.

Ross said Wednesday that “the stock has upside to key resistance at $40”, which is the average price at which it has been trading since its IPO. Fitbit stock is up 31 percent since June’s initial public offering ($30.40). The U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the primary USlaw governing the security and privacy of personal health information used by health insurance plans and other covered entities.

“Our compliance with HIPAA safeguards formalizes this commitment, and, more importantly, it creates opportunities for more effective relationships with corporate wellness consumers”.

The HIPAA compliance program will enable Fitbit Wellness to better support HIPAA-covered entities that are looking to improve the health and wellness of their members and employees. “We are excited about this new initiative and believe it will allow Fitbit Wellness to serve a broader market, and is another step forward in achieving Fitbit’s goal of empowering users to lead healthier, more active lives”. For a health-focused wearable device maker like Fitbit, enterprise accounts can provide a moat around the business.

Fitbit has about 50 Fortune 500 companies as wellness customers. Customers include Adobe, BP, box, Boston College and GNC.

Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, aims, assumptions, or future events or performance may be forward-looking statements.

Target is trying to reinvent its image as a promoter of wellness for employees and customers under its new CEO Brian Cornell, who came on board in August 2014.