Apple has announced a solution to bring health records to the iPhone, aiming to make things easier for users to access their medical information.
Right now, accessing your health data can be a real hassle and it may not always be easy to find a lab test or some other such record. With this in mind, Apple wants to make medical records easily accessible on the go, on iPhones.
Apple Bringing Medical Records To iPhones
Patients would previously have their medical records in multiple locations, which often required them to piece all information together, from each health care provider, manually. Together with the healthcare community, Apple created Health Records based on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, or FHIR for short, which is a standard designed for the transfer of digital records.
Taking things to the next level, Apple released its latest iOS 11.3 beta with a major update to the Health app, adding a new feature that allows people to check their health records straight on their iPhone.
"The updated Health Records section within the Health app brings together hospitals, clinics and the existing Health app to make it easy for consumers to see their available medical data from multiple providers whenever they choose," says Apple. "Johns Hopkins Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Penn Medicine and other participating hospitals and clinics are among the first to make this beta feature available to their patients."
iPhone Medical Records View
With this new feature, users will be able to see their all health information from various healthcare providers neatly organized into a comprehensive timeline. Various categories within this timeline include allergies, immunizations, conditions, medications, procedures, lab results, and vitals. Whenever the data gets an update, users will get a notification and will be able to review it.
Since medical information is sensitive and personal, however, users might want to make sure that their iPhone is safe from prying eyes. The iPhone passcode will also serve as protection for that Health Records data, so keeping that passcode secure will be crucial.
Having quick and easy access to your medical information could prove to be really useful, especially when you need to show health data to a doctor, physician, or some other person. More clinics, hospitals and medical facilities will join Health Records in the next few months, allowing their patients to take advantage of this feature.
The feature is still in beta for now, but when it's more polished and ready for general release it could significantly boost iPhones' appeal.
