A recent job listing over at Apple’s website provides a quite unconventional career opportunity for unconventional doctors. Apple is looking for a trained cardiologist with experience in the clinical development of regulated health products.
Big stuff on the horizon
Apple is trying hard to prove to investors and consumers that their products actually help people stay healthy. The company’s long standing collaboration with Stanford University has yielded impressive results; the Apple Watch 3 and the Apple Heart Study made significant headway towards a general perception of smartwatches as no-nonsense medical devices. That said, it looks like Apple’s about to go into overdrive, and outside consultants are no longer enough.
How many cardiologists does it take to design a watch?
Apple’s newly-hired cardiologist will actually have company – Alexis Beatty and David Tsay are also cardiologists on the company’s payroll. In this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape cardiac monitoring through mHealth, Apple’s going to get as much help as it can get. The Apple Watch 6 has more hardware than entire cardiology wards did 50 years ago; a group of visionary physicians could really find a way to use it at the benefit of patients.
Big Tech: Cardiologists needed
As Big Tech continues to explore whether it can penetrate the $3.5 trillion medical sector, cardiologists are often given senior roles. Alphabet’s health unit Verily chose a cardiologist, Jessica Mega, as its chief medical officer. Amazon hired Dr. Maulik Majmudar, also a cardiologist, as a resident medical expert as it moves into health.