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Oura hires a former Apple Health expert as it plans its next bold move for wearables

By Johanna Romero

Published: Mar 23, 2025, 10:38 AM

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Apple Wearables

Image of several colors of the Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4 in all its colors. | Image credit — Oura

Oura, the company behind the popular smart rings for health and wellness tracking, has made a notable addition to its team by hiring Ricky Bloomfield, a former member of Apple's health division, as their new Chief Medical Officer. This move, highlighted by Mark Gurman in his "Power On" column on Bloomberg, highlights Oura's ambition to strengthen its position in the healthcare and wellness sectors. Bloomfield, who worked at Apple Health since 2016, brings significant experience to Oura's future plans.

In his new role, Bloomfield will lead the development of a clinical team at Oura, signaling a greater emphasis on clinical validation for their health features. He will also be crucial in forming partnerships with healthcare organizations, potentially integrating Oura's technology into medical and wellness programs. Navigating regulatory approvals for Oura's health features will also be a key responsibility, ensuring they meet necessary standards for the healthcare industry.

Oura Ring 4 in Gold. | Image credit — Oura

Bloomfield's background at Apple Health provides him with a strong understanding of the intersection between consumer technology and healthcare. During his time there, Apple significantly advanced health tracking in devices like the Apple Watch. This experience likely equips Bloomfield with valuable insights for creating user-friendly yet clinically relevant health features, a vital aspect for companies in the wearable tech market.

This work ultimately led me to take another detour to Apple in 2016, where they were just starting to put together the foundation for a wearable platform that incorporated clinical data. I led several teams involved in launching multiple features, including Health Records on iPhone. This required understanding the technical, policy, regulatory, privacy, health, and design challenges and working across all of these teams at the company to solve them.

Ricky Bloomfield, MD, Oura's "The Pulse" blog, March 20, 2025

According to Bloomfield, the wearables landscape has matured significantly, becoming mainstream. He noted the increasing trend of users tracking health data and sharing it with their doctors, emphasizing the need for accuracy in wearable health technology. His expertise will be particularly relevant for Oura as they try to enhance their capabilities and build credibility.

Bloomfield aims to improve the connection between patients and healthcare providers at Oura. By securing regulatory clearances for their health features, Oura will try to boost its marketing and increase adoption within the medical community. Currently, a lack of approvals can limit claims and how doctors utilize the data. Bloomfield believes Oura's technology could serve as an early indicator for conditions like hypertension and prediabetes.

This is a key hire by Oura. Recruiting an experienced professional from a major player like Apple shows that Oura is comitted to advancing its health offerings and establishing itself as a serious contender in the digital health arena.

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Johanna 'Jojo the Techie' is a skilled mobile technology expert with over 15 years of hands-on experience, specializing in the Google ecosystem and Pixel devices. Known for her user-friendly approach, she leverages her vast tech support background to provide accessible and insightful coverage on latest technology trends. As a recognized thought leader and former member of #TeamPixel, Johanna ensures she stays at the forefront of Google services and products, making her a reliable source for all things Pixel and ChromeOS.

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