Apple wants to prevent disease, empower patients to ‘drive their own healthcare’, says VP of health

Apple wants to change the behavior of patients and providers, so they will use its devices and data tools to prevent disease, Sumbul Desai, MD, vice president of Apple Health, told The Hindu Business Line.

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Asked about Apple CEO Tim Cook’s comments that the company will make its greatest societal contribution on health, she told the news outlet: “If we can touch people’s lives in a way, where we can prevent them from developing diseases, or actually be healthier and feel like they’re empowered and educated to drive their own healthcare, there’s nothing more impactful than that.”

Getting there will also require that Apple’s health tools have the “same level of privacy from your technology as you would expect from your doctor,” Dr. Desai said, according to the Feb. 28 story.

“For example, the heart rhythm notification feature that we introduced, took us an extra year to release because not only did we want to make sure we validated it from a scientific standpoint, but also ensure the privacy of users,” she told the Business Line.

She also reiterated that, unlike some of its fellow disruptors, Apple has no plans to deliver healthcare.

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