What’s up with Apple in healthcare?
Recently, Apple has been making moves suggesting a major thrust into healthcare. They have forged a clinical trial partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and a precision medicine initiative with Scripps Translational Science Institute. Apple has also partnered with IBM, J&J, and Medtronic on Watson Health Cloud, a cognitive computing platform.
In August, the tech company confirmed its acquisition of personal health record startup Gliimpse. Meanwhile, Apple has a patent application pending for a new wearable ECG reader, and has introduced two new health apps — AirStrip and 3D4Medical.
Apple also just hired Duke University physician and mobile strategy director Dr. Ricky Bloomfield, following the September addition of physician Mike Evans, head of digital preventive medicine at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. Previous hires include Stanford University pediatric endocrinologist Rajiv Kumar, and Stephen Friend, president and co-founder of Sage Bionetworks.
Discerning Apple’s long-term goal in healthcare is difficult, but CEO Tim Cook believes healthcare is an “enormous” opportunity for the company.
