Dive Brief:
- Apple’s health team spent months in acquisition talks with medical clinic company Crossover Health, which runs Apple’s on-site clinic, CNBC reports, adding no deal was actually reached.
- The tech giant, which has a slew of health-related initiatives underway, also approached primary care vendor One Medical, sources familiar with the discussions told CNBC.
- It is not clear whether Apple’s aim was to own and operate a health clinic network, similar to its Apple retail stores, or to gain a vehicle for selling health-related products like the Apple Watch.
Dive Insight:
Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based Crossover Health provides on-site and near-site health and wellness centers for self-insured employers in the San Francisco Bay area, New York City and a number of other locations. In addition to Apple, its clients include Microsoft, Facebook and Symantec.
One Medical offers primary care services in eight U.S. cities including NYC, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Both companies tout the convenience of tech-enabled healthcare, same-day appointments, on-site labs and prescriptions and the ability of patients to interact with providers and track their progress.
Partnering with a primary care network would give Apple ready access to providers who could test and use its products. Its been reported the company is working on at least three regulated medical solutions — an app to diagnose Parkinson’s disease and two cardiac devices. The company also owns sleep tracking startup Beddit and is reported to be developing noninvasive sensors to help diabetics manage their blood sugar.
How owning a network of clinics fits into Apple’s long-term healthcare plans is unclear, but it could strengthen the company’s brand in the healthcare market and create another commercial line to build on its 300-plus retail stores.
For Crossover Health, One Medical or some other primary care vendor, teaming with Apple would provide access to tech-savvy sensors and monitoring tools that encourage patients to take more responsibility for their health and life choices.