Apple Hires Dozens of Doctors in Effort to Expand Health Expertise

Apple has hired 40 to 50 doctors to work with various teams as the firm pits itself as a contender in the health tech field.

Apple has made it clear that it wants to compete in the medical arena, with the recent launch of an ECG app on the Apple Watch Series 4, and the investment in a new personal health data platform.

Now, the Cupertino company has quietly employed dozens of doctors, “an indication that Apple is serious about helping customers manage disease, and not just wellness or fitness,” CNBC reports.

Apple is setting its sights on much more complicated issues than general fitness: the new hires include people like cardiologist Alexis Beatty, pediatrician Rajiv Kumar, and orthopedic surgeon Sharat Kusuma, the latter of which will work on an app to help patients after knee and hip surgeries, for example.



The Cupertino firm’s Apple Watch division is said to have doctors embedded doctors embedded in several teams. Others are said to be working on projects such as a health records project, and an internal “AC Wellness” primary care group for workers.

CNBC says it was able to locate 20 physicians at Apple via LinkedIn searches and sources familiar, and other people said as many as 50 doctors work there. For example, Bud Tribble, another doctor, is a vice president of software at Apple and an original member of the Mac design team. Another notable MD, per CNBC, is Michael O’Reilly, an anesthesiologist who’s been at Apple for almost six years.

“These hires are not just for show, according to people familiar with the doctors and their roles,” noted CNBC. “Many haven’t disclosed their role at Apple at all, which is commonplace at a company that prides itself on secrecy.”