Robert Pearl, M.D. offers his take on the new device

Oct 3, 2014 11:40 GMT  ·  By

Most smart-watches out there are marketed as computer or smartphone extensions. Apple’s approach is different. Its watch is something of a fashion item, a health & fitness tool, and even a communications device.

Trying to kill three birds with one stone may be hard, but Apple has done it before. However, some people aren’t quite convinced that the first generation of Apple watches will revolutionize anything.

A doctor’s perspective

Dr. Robert Pearl is a certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon, a Stanford University professor, and the CEO of The Permanente Medical Group.

He shares a few thoughts on the Apple Watch in a piece on Forbes. He doesn’t take the device as a whole, but only looks at its health-oriented functions. Which is the way to go, if you want to make a strong point about this key function.

“From my point of view as a physician and health care leader, for the Apple Watch to have as great an impact on the world as the iPhone and iPad, it must do more than just generate data,” Dr. Pearl writes. “It will need to make it easier for physicians to provide medical care and, ultimately, help patients achieve their health goals.”

He doubts the general population understands the concept, adding, “Even physicians who are early adopters of new technologies will be cautious.”

What the Apple Watch 2 will need to do

Dr. Pearl wants the Apple Watch to help spot warning signs, as well as alert the patient to call their physician when the situation asks for it. He offers an example: “For people with pacemakers, an alteration in heart rhythm can lead to death.”

He also wants the device to be able to accurately calculate when the patient needs to take more or less medication based on changes in their physiology, “assuming it were proven to be accurate, secure and safe,” he cautions.

“Maybe the next generation will focus on specific medical conditions and be designed for patients whose medical problems would benefit from continual feedback,” says Dr. Pearl.

Customer trust

The cloud is not the way to go, according to Pearl. People are afraid to put their personal info in there, and for good reason too.

“Companies like Google and Microsoft failed in their quest to market repositories for medical data because many Americans were reluctant to put their personal medical information in the cloud,” he says.

He admits that Apple is doing more to protect users’ privacy than the aforementioned tech giants.

One way it is doing this is through the HealthKit framework, which doesn’t allow medical apps to store personal medical information in the cloud. Another safety measure is not allowing developers to share any user’s data, “except for use in medical research – and even then, only with the user’s permission,” Dr. Pearl adds.

He concludes, saying, “Apple’s watch indicates the company is taking a solid first step toward becoming a player the health care market. But it’s only a first step.”