1984 or 2019?

When we began researching healthcare data and workplace wearables, we weren’t necessarily thinking about Apple, yet there it was—leading the adoption of interoperability standards for data transfer; working with leading healthcare institutions to pilot the use of its health records app for patient data; and essentially turning  its phone (and watch) into a medical device. These are just a few of Apple’s pursuits (for a deeper dive, check out the Apple in Healthcare briefing put out by CB Insights in early January).

Two of our features this month describe the healthcare universe in which Apple is just one participant. This universe combines legislative and regulatory initiatives, employer wants and needs, and technology-driven consumer behavior. The push for value-based care, the competition for talent, and, well, the smartphone are all converging. And they could, one day, lead to a utopia-like world of personalized, quality-driven, cost-efficient medicine…How’s that for a Super Bowl ad?