Tim Cook says Health is Apple's #1 Goal

[Arthur Hanson]

As I have been posting for over two years, Apple's main goal is to reform medical as Tim Cook expressed to Jim Cramer in a CNBC interview. Apple is probably our best hope in changing the US medical mess that is destroying the finances of individuals and the country. Apple could easily double in size if the pulls this off and by bringing advanced tech into medical, change the semi/nanotech sector in a size and scope not previously imagined. This will extend from the wearable to the data center running AI/ML hooked to an ever growing data base that will allow medical access to an up to date mine that will in itself change and face and pace of medical research and especially the tech industry in its entirety. Apple is going to morph into the world's most important medical company on a world wide scale with the most impact.

Tim Cook teases new Apple services tied to health care

 

[Daniel Payne]

Apple has dipped their toe into the medical field to date with an Apple Watch that monitors heart rate.

Apple also has a Health app that:

• Tracks activity - steps walked, distance traveled, heart rate, etc.
• Tracks sleep - some analysis
• Mindfulness - breathing exercises
• Nutrition - tracking calories, carbs, caffeine, etc.
• Tracks medical records - allergies, immunizations, lab results, etc.
• Medical ID - emergency info
• Organ Donation - indicate donor status
• ResearchKit - enables medical researchers to gather health data from iPhone users
• CareKit - manage your health with tracking symptoms and medications, sharing with care team

This is a nascent, crowded field with many providers and emerging platforms.

The American medical experience is still largely paper-based, with a very slow adoption rate of technology because so few standards exist and there's little government regulation to encourage standards development. There is much organizational bureaucracy and momentum to overcome and completely transform, so a single vendor like Apple can attempt to make a small dent in this process.

 

[Arthur Hanson]

Apple has dipped their toe into the medical field to date with an Apple Watch that monitors heart rate.

Apple also has a Health app that:

• Tracks activity - steps walked, distance traveled, heart rate, etc.
• Tracks sleep - some analysis
• Mindfulness - breathing exercises
• Nutrition - tracking calories, carbs, caffeine, etc.
• Tracks medical records - allergies, immunizations, lab results, etc.
• Medical ID - emergency info
• Organ Donation - indicate donor status
• ResearchKit - enables medical researchers to gather health data from iPhone users
• CareKit - manage your health with tracking symptoms and medications, sharing with care team

This is a nascent, crowded field with many providers and emerging platforms.

The American medical experience is still largely paper-based, with a very slow adoption rate of technology because so few standards exist and there's little government regulation to encourage standards development. There is much organizational bureaucracy and momentum to overcome and completely transform, so a single vendor like Apple can attempt to make a small dent in this process.

Dan, much of the problem is the US medical lobby that's all about money and maintaining entrenched interests whose main goal is generating more money. Prevention and maintenance are far, far cheaper than repair. Also, just look at medical advertising that dominates almost every medium. We should have national standards boards and do away with medical advertising completely. Individual doctors offices, except in remote areas, are the best way of delivering low quality, high cost medical due to massive inherent inefficiencies in the business model. If the tech industry worked like this almost all services and products would cost a fortune. US medical is now about waste, inefficiency, lack of transparency and even a significant degree of fraud. It is also about stifling competition, like with Medicare not being able to use it in foreign countries that have far superior medical at a fraction of the cost. US medical is strictly set up to support special interests and the fact that US medical ranks 37th in quality, with the highest cost, just confirms all of this. The Pentagon has ruled debt the greatest threat to this country and medical is the largest contributor to this threat. This makes the established medical system literally our worst enemy.

 

[Speedfriend]

"Apple is going to morph into the world's most important medical company on a world wide scale with the most impact."

I find this hard to believe. Apple has no real history in healthcare, little experience in medical ML, no expertise in medical cost management, no expertise in medical underwriting. All it has is a watch that can monitor some health statistics and even that operates in a closed ecosystem. Maybe if it bought UnitedHealth....

 

[Arthur Hanson]

"Apple is going to morph into the world's most important medical company on a world wide scale with the most impact."

I find this hard to believe. Apple has no real history in healthcare, little experience in medical ML, no expertise in medical cost management, no expertise in medical underwriting. All it has is a watch that can monitor some health statistics and even that operates in a closed ecosystem. Maybe if it bought UnitedHealth....

Apple has had an alliance with Kaiser for years, which has one of the most comprehensive detailed bases of any medical organization for they have gone paperless for all internal documentation. Apple has been making a major effort for several years in this area and it is just recently they have gone to the general public with its medical efforts. Also Apple has more than enough money and prestige to attract or buy any top talent or company they may need. Due having the best stability and security of any large network, Apple will be the platform of choice to build on. They also have a wealthier than average customer base that is willing to spend on health care. They also have been working on their medical efforts on their employee base. So Apple had far more experience than most realize and even then Apple is very well known for keeping secrets. Tim Cook has made it an effort for years and it will be interesting to see what they have in store. Apple could very easily create entirely new ecosystems for medical on top of their existing ecosystems. They also have very, very deep relationships with many of their suppliers needed to create and support a very large technological push. On top of the hundreds of millions of current users of their platforms, few companies can match their potential in any area they choose to go into.