Apple now has up to 50 doctors on staff for health tech work, report says

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in General Discussion
Apple may now have as many as 50 medical doctors spread through the company as it continues to build on the health technologies found in the iPhone, Apple Watch, and HealthKit.

Apple Watch ECG app


The recruits are "not just for show," CNBC said on Wednesday, citing multiple sources. With the help of those sources and LinkedIn searches, CNBC said it was able to identify at least 20 physicians -- some sources indicated however that as many as 50 may be in Apple's services.

Part of the difficulty in getting a solid number is Apple's infamous secrecy. Many doctors have reportedly avoided revealing their jobs at Apple.

The specialities of Apple's hires are said to be diverse, including people like cardiologist Alexis Beatty, pediatrician Rajiv Kumar, and orthopedic surgeon Sharat Kusuma, the latter of whom is handling a partnership with medical gear maker Zimmer Biomet to determine whether Apple technology can speed recovery from knee and hip replacements.

The company's Apple Watch division is believed to have doctors embedded in several teams. Other people are working on things such as a health records project, or the internal "AC Wellness" primary care group for workers.

Signaling greater plans, doctors like family medicine specialist Michael Evans and anesthesiologist Mike O'Reilly have been assigned to Apple's "special projects" group -- a label for people developing secret next-generation products.

Apple just recently launched its promised electrocardiogram feature for the Apple Watch Series 4, and hired the CEO of prescription-tracking startup Mango Health.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    dougddougd Posts: 292member
    They might be there to treat all the burned out Apple engineers
    raoulduke42
  • Reply 2 of 16
    Just posted this on https://www.ped30.com/2018/12/12/trade-war-zacks-apple/ :

    ---------

    Completely off-topic, but here’s a link posted today on Braeburn Group that is very much Apple-related:

    https://abcnews.go.com/Health/apple-watch-told-46-year-man-irregular-heartbeat/story?id=59726093

    This story is about a 46 year old man who found out via his Apple Watch that he had a-fib. It struck a chord with me because I also found out via my Apple Watch that I had a-fib and atrial flutter. In this man’s case it was because he just tried out the new ECG capability for the heck of it. In my case, it was the Watch’s heart rate monitor that alerted me that I had a racing heart.

    But there’s a bit more in my case to the story. I was scheduled for a procedure called atrial ablation this coming Monday, and in prep for that went through a special heart scan test. In the process of THAT test, I found out this morning that I also have a hiatal hernia. That will require yet another surgery, and must be done before the heart procedure.

    So directly or indirectly, Apple is responsible for diagnosing two serious health issues of mine over the past few months. Apple is taking care of me in more ways than just being a stockholder….

    Thanks, Apple!

    edited December 2018 rob53tmayyojimbo007fotoformatraoulduke42Soliracerhomie3stanthemanradarthekatGeorgeBMac
  • Reply 3 of 16
    The next frontier, artificial intelligence, will involve coalescing the knowledge of thousands of the best medical practitioners in their respective fields and automating those aspects that drive patients batty: wrong diagnoses, incorrectly prescribed medications and failure to devote adequate time to the patient. Doctors will first be supplemented, then replaced with systems that will rarely if ever get a diagnosis wrong.
    edited December 2018
  • Reply 4 of 16
    That is fantastic!.. 👍Apple!
    raoulduke42watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 16
    First develop expertise, then develop a product. Apple does it just like Samsung, only the opposite.
    radarthekatGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 16
    radarthekatradarthekat Posts: 3,842moderator
    I just want ApplePay to refuse to pay for brownies; my weakness.
    SpamSandwichwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 16
    LatkoLatko Posts: 398member
    dougd said:
    They might be there to treat all the burned out Apple engineers
    With only 50 doctors on a population of 150k+ employees they will have a hard time to work on products. This is a meagre percentage vs. the industry’s average
  • Reply 8 of 16
    The next frontier, artificial intelligence, will involve coalescing the knowledge of thousands of the best medical practitioners in their respective fields and automating those aspects that drive patients batty: wrong diagnoses, incorrectly prescribed medications and failure to devote adequate time to the patient. Doctors will first be supplemented, then replaced with systems that will rarely if ever get a diagnosis wrong.
    Right after they figure out how to set timers. 
  • Reply 9 of 16
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,022member
    I still feel like they should acquire One Medical (https://www.onemedical.com/) and turn them into AC Wellness centers for the public, of course those with medical insurance. Maybe if you sign up to use Apple health devices you get your plan for free since they will be collecting your health records. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple is secretly working on something to this already. They have in the past, publically beta tested products right in front of our eyes without our knowledge. 
    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 16
    The next frontier, artificial intelligence, will involve coalescing the knowledge of thousands of the best medical practitioners in their respective fields and automating those aspects that drive patients batty: wrong diagnoses, incorrectly prescribed medications and failure to devote adequate time to the patient. Doctors will first be supplemented, then replaced with systems that will rarely if ever get a diagnosis wrong.
    Right after they figure out how to set timers. 
    Not sure what this refers to, but you need to keep in mind Apple hired Google’s artificial intelligence guy no too long ago and I think the fruits of that hire will start to become evident soon enough.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-hires-artificial-intelligence-executive-from-rival-google-1522811544
  • Reply 11 of 16
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    sacto joe said:
    Just posted this on https://www.ped30.com/2018/12/12/trade-war-zacks-apple/ :

    ---------

    Completely off-topic, but here’s a link posted today on Braeburn Group that is very much Apple-related:

    https://abcnews.go.com/Health/apple-watch-told-46-year-man-irregular-heartbeat/story?id=59726093

    This story is about a 46 year old man who found out via his Apple Watch that he had a-fib. It struck a chord with me because I also found out via my Apple Watch that I had a-fib and atrial flutter. In this man’s case it was because he just tried out the new ECG capability for the heck of it. In my case, it was the Watch’s heart rate monitor that alerted me that I had a racing heart.

    But there’s a bit more in my case to the story. I was scheduled for a procedure called atrial ablation this coming Monday, and in prep for that went through a special heart scan test. In the process of THAT test, I found out this morning that I also have a hiatal hernia. That will require yet another surgery, and must be done before the heart procedure.

    So directly or indirectly, Apple is responsible for diagnosing two serious health issues of mine over the past few months. Apple is taking care of me in more ways than just being a stockholder….

    Thanks, Apple!

    You are not the only poster on the ai forum with that story!  (Thankfully the 'other' is not me.)

    Glad you are getting the treatment you need to stay well!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 16
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    I have mixed feelings about Apple being so close to the medical industry for the development and direction of its products:

    I feel strongly that the future of healthcare industry must be in actual healthcare:  Where people do the things that prevent the chronic diseases that are ravaging our society.  That is:  it is estimated that 75-80% of our $3.5 trillion a year healthcare spending goes to treat the symptoms of so called "age related" chronic diseases.   Yet it is also estimate that between 50-80% of those diseases were the result of unhealthy lifestyles such as:  Unheatlhy diets, sedentary living, stress, smoking, alcohol, etc...

    Further, the healthcare industry says that lifestyle medicine is not part of their job description.  Their job, they say, is to treat the affects of those unhealthy lifestyles -- which makes it a disease management system rather than a healthcare system.

    Apple, with its products could revolutionize actual healthcare (The healthy lifestyles that prevent those diseases from ever happening). 

    Will the physicians (and more importantly the large organizations who employ them) be converted to promote health -- or will they continue to reap massive profits through their disease management scam?
  • Reply 13 of 16
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    A smart and reasonably early move of Apple to enter medical systems directed at end user.
    Philips medical systems does this for health care professional. They are very successful and have high margins, so that’s a perfect fit for Apple. 
    I have some ideas that might be very lucrative, especially for the health obsessed (hypochondriac) US marked.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 16
    I wonder how many doctors quit when they discovered they were "not just for show."
  • Reply 15 of 16
    knowitallknowitall Posts: 1,648member
    The next frontier, artificial intelligence, will involve coalescing the knowledge of thousands of the best medical practitioners in their respective fields and automating those aspects that drive patients batty: wrong diagnoses, incorrectly prescribed medications and failure to devote adequate time to the patient. Doctors will first be supplemented, then replaced with systems that will rarely if ever get a diagnosis wrong.
    I get your humor.
  • Reply 16 of 16
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    dougd said:
    They might be there to treat all the burned out Apple engineers
    It’s not just the engineers that might suffer from burnout. Their marketing staff may, as well. Graphic designers, etc. 
    edited December 2018
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