Apple to Launch Medical Clinic for Employees
Close on the heels of Amazon’s surprising turn into the healthcare industry through Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, tech giant Apple has now announced “AC Wellness,” a health care network exclusively dedicated to delivering compassionate, effective healthcare to Apple employees and dependent population at two locations- Apple Wellness Centers in Santa Clara Valley, and the new Apple Park Wellness Center.
The tech company has launched a website for the clinics. Currently, Apple has one Wellness Center in its headquarters in Cupertino that employs a handful of doctors, chiropractors, dietitians, and physical therapists.
Delivering better primary care is key to the success of all of these employee-led efforts because it’s far cheaper to prevent disease than treat people who are already sick. Health problems result in 69 million workers reporting missed days each year, reducing economic output by $260 billion per year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Aside from the typical roles involved with a primary care clinic, Apple is also looking to hire “designers” who will help implement a program focused on preventing disease and promoting healthy behavior. It’s looking for a population health designer and clinical program design lead, listings
show.Apple’s CEO and COO have both indicated publicly that the company wanted to do more in the health space. Stanford and Apple are currently collaborating on a Heart Study app, collecting data to determine whether current Apple Watches can accurately detect rhythm irregularities. Apple is also working with a wide variety of medical researchers on other health-related initiatives.
As with those other forays into healthcare, the company continues to emphasize technology. “AC Wellness Network believes that having trusting, accessible relationships with our patients, enabled by technology, promotes high-quality care,” according to the site. A job posting for a physician in the network also stresses technology, describing a physician who’s comfortable with “new methods of care delivery using technology.”
