Now, Stephen Friend, MD, co-founder and CEO of Sage Bionetworks, a nonprofit biomedical research horganization, has left leadership position at the company to take on a role at Apple “where he will work on health related projects,” according to a posting on the Sage Bionetworks website.
While there were no specifics about Dr. Friend’s duties, it was recently revealed that Apple intends to make patient health records accessible on the next iteration of its iPhone. In a column on Forbes following the announcement of Dr. Friend’s departure from Sage, David Shaywitz, MD, wrote Apple’s pivot to health offerings could have a major impact on the industry.
“Apple, of course, isn’t the only Silicon Valley behemoth with an interest in health, but I’d argue they’re well-positioned to have the greatest impact, for the simple reason that while many companies (such as, traditionally, Google) seem to focus first on the data, Apple’s efforts seem centered around the patient-participant,” Dr. Shaywitz wrote. “In health, as in other domains, Apple appears to be approaching its mission with a level of empathy for the user that many data-crunching companies seem to lack.”
More articles on Apple:
Apple CEO: Healthcare is an ‘enormous’ opportunity for Apple
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Saying goodbye to paper: The iPad advantage for healthcare
