Inside STAT: The EKG is only a start. Apple wants to seize the market for patient monitoring

(HYACINTH EMPINADO / STAT)

It's not clear yet how a new EKG app in the new version of the Apple Watch will perform in the real world and whether it will prove beneficial for patients, doctors, and researchers. But the move gives the consumer technology giant a big head start in the exploding market for patient monitoring devices — a field that could change the way some kinds of health care are delivered. Several large providers are already using Apple-generated data to study patients with a range of diseases in a bid to develop apps that improve diagnosis, track patients’ response to treatment, and even intervene to prevent illness. STAT's Casey Ross has the story here.