Dive Brief:
- Intrigued by a series of YouTube videos on common medical problems, Apple has hired the tech-savvy Toronto physician who made them to help hone its healthcare messaging, the CBC reports.
- Dr. Mike Evans, aka “DocMikeEvans,” is head of digital preventive medicine at Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and an associate professor of family and community medicine at the University of Toronto. He previously served as a physician at Toronto-based St. Michael’s Hospital.
- His new job will focus on worldwide health innovation.
Dive Insight:
Evans described his vision of healthcare's future as a mix of in-person visits and advanced technology.
“In the future, I’ll prescribe you an app," he told the CBC, adding, "One of our whiteboards will drop in and explain what high blood pressure is. The phone will be Bluetoothed to the cap of your pills. I’ll nudge you towards a low salt diet. All of these things will all happen in your phone. I see you two or three days a year. The phone sees you everyday.”
In his YouTube videos, a cartoon doctor, voiced over by Evans, explains common medical issues with the aid of a whiteboard. He’s dubbed it peer-to-peer healthcare. Since launching his Med School for the Public on YouTube in 2011, the program has gotten 70,000 subscribers and 14 million views, according to the CBC.
Apple has made no secret of their desire for a piece of the healthcare pie. Last month, the tech giant purchased it first digital health company, personal health records startup Gliimpse. The company has also started to build healthcare credibility with its HealthKit, CareKit and ResearchKit platforms.