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The report is the first time Apple has offered a comprehensive look at its approach to healthcare markets in the eight years since it began releasing health features such as a medical records storage system on iPhones.
Apple Inc issued a report on Wednesday that outlines a two-pronged strategy in the digital health markets, reaching consumers with health and fitness features on the one hand and tapping into traditional healthcare systems on the other.
The report, led by Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams, is the first time Apple has offered a comprehensive look at its approach to healthcare markets in the eight years since it began releasing health features such as a medical records storage system on iPhones. It also began collaborating with institutions such as Stanford University School of Medicine to conduct extensive formal medical studies.
Much of the work centered around the Apple Watch, a device that Williams played a key role in launching and which includes sensors for heart health and other features.
Apple said in a statement that its focus for consumers is to provide a safe place for users to store their health and medical information on iPhones, while using tools like the Apple Watch to alert and encourage users to be healthier. Among other things, the device can alert people to heart irregularities and detect when a person falls hard to alert an emergency contact. Apple said its system can now store 150 different types of health data, which is encrypted so that only users can access it, not Apple.
The company also outlined the work it’s doing with medical researchers to allow them to use Apple devices to conduct studies, as well as allowing patients to share and discuss data collected by Apple devices to better monitor their health between doctor visits.
Williams wrote in the report that Apple intends to continue developing health-related features for both users and the healthcare industry.
“Our vision for the future is to continue to create science-based technology that empowers people with even more information and acts as an intelligent guardian of their health, so they are no longer passengers on their own health journey,” Williams wrote.
