HSHS Medical Group is launching a pilot study to integrate the Apple Watch and other “virtual care technologies” into patient care.

Right now the company offers Advanced Medical Home program which uses nurse navigators working directly with patients who suffer from chronic diseases to monitor their health. The idea is to rely on modern mobile technologies such as Apple’s smart watch to measure on a continuous basis health indicators that are currently measured only in face-to-face visits.

HSHS has came up with a task force led by Andrew Bland, MD that will establish protocols for use of these technologies together with selecting doctors and nurses who will participate in the pilot. The goal of the task force will be to study the integration of technology into the medical home model before the Apple Watch starts selling in early 2015.

Looking beyond the pilot, HSHS may incorporate Apple Watch in treatment of the medical group’s general patient population, as well.“We want to be at the forefront of using the latest personal and virtual care technology to improve our patients’ health and quality of life,” Bland said. “We believe the Apple Watch is positioned to monitor important health metrics on a real-time basis and provide our healthcare team with crucial information to design individualized health and wellness plans for patients.”

Following a successful implementation of the Apple Watch in the Advanced Medical Home model, Bland says the Watch could be incorporated in treatment of the medical group’s general patient population as well.