Apple isn't entering the primary care arena like other retail disruptors such as Amazon, CVS and Optum, instead the company is focusing on how to keep patients healthier through data, according to a Feb. 17 report from the American Hospital Association.
According to the AHA, by 2030, up to 30 percent of the $260 billion primary care market could be controlled by nontraditional organizations, but Apple is using a different approach as it uses its personal devices to help patients live healthier lives.
Here is a look at Apple's healthcare strategy:
- Apple is continuing to add health-related features to its Apple Watch in order to establish the wearable as a clinical tool to be used in research.
- Apple is using its Apple Watch and iPhone to build partnerships with payers, health systems and clinical researchers.
- These health features in their devices are helping patients live healthier lives.
- Apple is strengthening its physician-patient relationship with the use of wearable data, according to the AHA report.
The report also says that as Apple makes headway with healthcare data in 2023, the company will need to make it easier for patients to transfer data from personal devices to providers in real time.