Apple Dives Into Medical Records

Apple has announced a spring update to its operating system for iPhones and iPads that will have a new "Health Records" feature to import and store medical data about allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures, and vitals, reports the Wall Street Journal . Twelve hospitals will participate, with physicians noting Apple will gain the advantages of more consolidated hospital networks and concentration among medical-record systems. KLAS Research says Apple has obtained participation from Epic Systems and Cerner, which collectively account for more than half of medical-records management, as well as Athenahealth. PicnicHealth co-founder Noga Leviner says Apple must boost the number of data-sharing hospitals if the Health Records feature is to find success. Leviner also notes Apple needs to expand information beyond simple listings such as allergies and recent lab results, especially since people with chronic conditions require much more detailed information. Some hospitals in the same system use variant electronic medical records and frequently lack data-sharing agreements. Ochsner Health System's Richard Milani says Apple also is adopting the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, the top standard for transferring electronic records so hospitals and medical-records vendors have an easier time sharing information with Apple. The company says instead of it receiving any health-record data, users can add a health provider on their phone and import their records directly from the provider to the device. Users will be able to back up their records to iCloud, and that data will be encrypted with only users having the key to the information on their device.