Springfield, Ill.-based HSHS Medical Group, the physician organization of Hospital Sisters Health System, has announced plans to integrate Apple Watch into its patient care protocol.
The medical group has created a task force that will study the integration of such technology into the medical home model before Apple releases its watch in 2015. The task force will also establish protocols for using the technology.
"We want to be at the forefront of using the latest personal and virtual care technology to improve our patients' health and quality of life," said Andrew Bland, MD, chief quality officer of HSHS Medical Group. "We believe the Apple Watch is positioned to monitor important health metrics on a real-time basis and provide our healthcare team with crucial information to design individualized health and wellness plans for patients."
If the Apple Watch has a successful implementation in the medical home model, Dr. Bland suggested it could be further incorporated into the general patient population down the road.
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