Jeff Williams, chief operating officer of Apple Inc., speaks during an Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park on September 12, 2018 in Cupertino, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

When Apple introduced its electrocardiogram feature for the Apple Watch last month, it instantly gave millions of people unprecedented access to their health information. The Apple Watch is the first mass-market product with an ECG, which lets consumers get a reading of their heart's rhythm and potentially pick up on a type of arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation. That's a big deal, but it also raises some concerns. While the device gives people more control over their health and better data on their conditions is laudable, many doctors are worried about false positives. That is, the Apple Watch may be wrong in some cases, resulting in healthy people rushing unnecessarily to the emergency room. Check out the Twitter hashtag #cardiotwitter to see how that's playing out. "I love the idea of patients participating in their own health, and I'm not anti-Apple," said Dr. Brian Kolski, a cardiologist in Orange County, California. "But I also don't want to be pulled away from those who are actually sick." Kolski said he recently started getting messages from patients who were using the ECG feature and just needed reassurance because they didn't quite understand the reading. "U up?" one perfectly healthy patient emailed him at midnight one night, along with data from the watch. "I'm in an area of Southern California where there are a lot of worried well," Kolski said.

Critics are also concerned about misinformation, especially with the recent batch of unverified claims that the Apple Watch is saving lives. The flip side is that numerous studies have found that patients are becoming more informed than ever, whether it's through symptom searching on Google or accessing an ECG reading through their Apple Watch. And that's changing the culture of medicine. When patients are armed with their own health data, the relationship with their doctor becomes less paternalistic. They're no longer rendered childlike to an authority figure, who provides instructions during an annual visit on the steps they should take to mange their health. Instead, consumers are turning to discussion forums like PatientsLikeMe, where engaged patients with serious medical conditions discuss their treatments, doctors and other aspects of their care. Some doctors are embracing that trend, as it allows medical experts to be more proactive with patients, helping to keep them healthy rather than just treating them when they get sick. "The Apple Watch could give doctors a new way to communicate with their patients," said Dr. Oliver Aalami, a vascular surgeon and clinical associate professor at Stanford University. Aalami said patients are more likely to notice if they have a skipped heartbeat or extra heartbeats, which could be problematic but might also be due to stress or too much caffeine. Doctors can help determine if the irregularity is due to possible signs of heart disease, requiring medical intervention, or something like anxiety, which can often be managed through alterations in lifestyle. Similarly, Dr. Leslie Saxon, a cardiologist and professor at the University of Southern California, has publicly praised Apple for helping people take control of their health.

Balancing act