One of the big issues in healthcare is the lack of access to personal medical records for patients. Many people want to see the medication they have been prescribed, what tests they’ve had done, their diagnoses, etc. Fortunately, having complete access to your digital medical records has been a discussion for many years now as well as the accessibility of having it all in one spot.
Apple has come to the forefront of advocating for digital access to personal healthcare records and in doing so, began building up partnerships with healthcare systems and hospitals all over the US. At this point, there are a large handful of facilities have created online medical records for their patients to view, but depending on each facility you have visited, they are most likely spread out among different platforms.
Apple has created an app where patients can see all medical records in one spot. They believe that all people should play an active part in their health and being able to access your personal health information is a massive step in that direction. This app will allow patients to view their medical records in a way that is safe and secure and give them the opportunity to care about their health.
One of the biggest partners Apple has begun to work with is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. At this point, well over 9 million veterans will be able to see all of the medical care they have received from the VA. Apple is very excited to have the opportunity to bring a better way of viewing and receiving healthcare to our veterans. Allowing access through this iPhone app will give veterans the knowledge to speak to their health care providers about their health and ultimately improve their care.
According to Apple Vice President of technology, Kevin Lynch, “our goal is to empower people to better understand and improve their health, enabling them to view their medical information from multiple providers in one place easily and securely”, he explains in an interview on DigitalTrends.com. Apple wants to take this new technology and continue to expand upon the health of the people. With their continued creation of fitness and health apps, as well as the apple watch assisting in fitness, the nature of a medical records app will continue down the path to improving a person’s overall health.