Apple & #039;s Medical Hires: Big Deal or Much Ado About Nothing?

Apple has been careful to keep its future healthcare plans under wraps, but whatever it is, expect that it will be big. “Apple has a huge opportunity in health … and I don’t want to talk about the future because I don’t want to give away what we’re doing, but this is an area of major interest to us,” CEO Tim Cook said during Apple’s earnings call in November, according to Seeking Alpha transcripts. The ECG app recently became available to Apple Watch Series 4 customers in the United States, and U.S. customers with an Apple Watch Series 1 or later are now able to check themselves for irregular heart rhythms. “These are unprecedented and potentially life-changing features showing how Apple Watch is not only an indispensable communication and fitness companion, but also an intelligent guardian for your health,” Cook said. “More broadly we see this as just one further example of the kind of contribution we can make in the health space, and we look forward to making more in the future.” But the million dollar question for medtech is what role will Apple play in the industry and how will it impact traditional medical device players? Earlier this week CNBC reported that Apple has been quietly adding dozens of medical doctors to its payroll. The company has not yet commented on the repor...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Digital Health Business Source Type: news