After much speculation, Apple is officially bringing medical records onto the iPhone.
The company issued an update to its Health app on Wednesday, debuting a new feature that allows users to view their medical records on their phones, according to an announcement.
To launch the beta version that features a new “health records” section, Apple partnered with 12 hospitals and clinics as well as EHR vendors Cerner and Epic, using Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to facilitate the transfer of medical records. Patients who receive care at the following healthcare providers will be able to access their records through the iPhone app, including vital signs, procedures, medications and test results. They will also receive updates when new information is added to their record.
- Johns Hopkins Medicine - Baltimore, Maryland
- Cedars-Sinai - Los Angeles, California
- Penn Medicine - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Geisinger Health System - Danville, Pennsylvania
- UC San Diego Health - San Diego, California
- UNC Health Care - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Rush University Medical Center - Chicago, Illinois
- Dignity Health - Arizona, California and Nevada
- Ochsner Health System - Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
- MedStar Health - Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
- OhioHealth - Columbus, Ohio
- Cerner Healthe Clinic - Kansas City, Missouri
“We’ve worked closely with the health community to create an experience everyone has wanted for years—to view medical records easily and securely right on your iPhone,” Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO, said in an announcement. “By empowering customers to see their overall health, we hope to help consumers better understand their health and help them lead healthier lives.”
We are proud to collaborate with @Apple to advance interoperability and make personal health care records as convenient as possible for consumers. https://t.co/DsxK6UFfTf
— Cerner (@Cerner) January 24, 2018
Healthcare executives involved in the partnership with Apple lauded the tech giant’s efforts to provide patients with easy access to their medical records.
“Apple is uniquely positioned to help scale adoption because they have both a secure and trusted platform and have adopted the latest industry open standards at a time when the industry is well positioned to respond,” said Darren Dworkin, chief information officer at Cedars-Sinai.