Apple CEO Tim Cook has announced his company’s high ambitions of contribution in the health-care sector. He hinted that it the new contribution will move beyond wellness devices and applications just like the step-tracking Apple Watch. At the Apple’s annual shareholders meeting in California, Cook acknowledged that the notoriously complex healthcare sector doesn’t always encourage new players to bring innovative plans. He reassured shareholders about Apple having a “great position” in the healthcare sector, which was achieved by taking a more consumer-friendly approach.
Interestingly it’s not just Apple who is plotting big moves in the healthcare sector of the US.
The developer of Alexa, Amazon has also formed a consortium with Berkshire Hathaway and J.P. Morgan to find ways of reducing healthcare spending for its own employees. The company has also started selling medical supplies into small practices and large hospitals, and is further considering a significant push into the drug supply chain.
The US healthcare sector is worth $3 trillion and it represents such an attractive opportunity for healthcare players to make huge profits through quality services. Experts say that there is also a growing trend of consumerization in the healthcare sector of the United States and Americans are increasingly paying out of their own pockets for their healthcare and not relying much on their employers or the federal government.
Coming back to the topic, Apple’s iPhones now come complete with software for health developers and consumers to easily access medical information. The company also has a B2B strategy because it knows that its iPad and other similar devices are widely used in the healthcare industry and is particularly favored by the doctors.
Apple believes that to get beyond wellness, it will need to work in collaboration with federal regulators in the years ahead. Cook further state that he was not worried on the fact that whether the government would agree to reimburse its offerings.
