“Apple’s Health Record app allows patients to pull in their healthcare info from multiple providers onto a single record they can share with clinicians, regardless of where they work,” Lucas Mearian reports for Computerworld. “Since becoming generally available in March, Apple’s new Health Record mobile patient health record aggregator has generally won praise from two hospitals that beta tested the app.”
“Apple said that – as of last week – 39 hospitals have signed up to test the software, which will allow patients and healthcare providers to interact on iPhones and iPads,” Mearian reports. “Officials at two of those institutions, Johns Hopkins and Penn Medicine, see promise in how the field is evolving.”
“‘I love the privacy disclosures and clarity… with regard to the patient. I think they’re [Apple] absolutely exemplar in this regard and way ahead of others,’ said Dr. Peter Greene, Chief Medical Information Officer at Johns Hopkins Medicine,” Mearian reports. “Greene believes Apple’s Health app is particularly valuable for patients who have complex care coordination needs where they need to share information with other providers, perhaps urgently. Otherwise, the system is unable to make that connection. ‘This is a really good thing to ensure anytime you have your record information on you and can immediately share that in an urgent situation with your next provider,’ Greene said.”
Tons more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple is uniquely positioned to accomplish this very formidable task.
One of the biggest issues in healthcare in the U.S. today is that there is no “Quarterback” – someone running the effort, coordinating the various specialists, making sure everyone is on the same page with the treatment plan(s), drug interactions, allergies, etc. A “playbook” showing the full picture of the patient’s health data would be very useful – and let the disparate medical personnel each quarterback on their own. Hopefully, Apple can step in, build, and fulfill this need with the company’s vaunted security and privacy. — MacDailyNews, August 22, 2016
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The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs developed pancreatic cancer in 2004. He then spent a great deal of time with doctors and the healthcare system until his death in 2011. While that personal health journey had a great impact on Jobs personally, it turns out that it affected Apple’s top management, too. During this time, Jobs discovered how disjointed the healthcare system can be. He took on the task of trying to bring some digital order to various aspects of the healthcare system, especially the connection between patients, their data, and their healthcare providers…
I have long been observing these key moves around healthcare, which accelerated after Jobs’ death. It seems clear that Apple’s management has now and will continue to have a major focus on bridging the gap between a person and their healthcare providers. I believe Apple is on a mission to improve the overall health of its customers as well as that of the healthcare system, a task Jobs gave them before he died. And while Apple’s products define Jobs’ legacy, it may turn out that his and Apple’s greatest contribution may be to bring greater order to the fragmented healthcare world.
It is within this backdrop that the Apple Watch was born. — Tim Bajarin, TIME Magazine, May 09, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Tim Cook: Apple can make a ‘significant contribution’ in health care – February 13, 2018
Apple aims to revolutionize healthcare – for free – February 6, 2018
Apple will finally replace the fax machine in health care – January 30, 2018
Why Apple is positioned to win the electronic medical record game with Health Records in iOS 11.3 – January 25, 2018
Apple announces effortless solution bringing health records to iPhone – January 24, 2018
Apple working with a start-up ‘Health Gorilla’ in secretive personal health record initiative – October 20, 2017
Apple’s healthcare plans under the microscope: From iPhone apps to Apple Watch and what comes next – October 4, 2017
Apple granted U.S. patent for iPhone that measures and analyzes health data – August 8, 2017
Apple working with start-up on iPhone Electronic Health Records plan – June 19, 2017
Apple’s profound iPhone plans for healthcare – June 15, 2017
Apple acquires Gliimpse – August 22, 2016
Apple rehires Flipboard co-founder Evan Doll to develop health software – August 12, 2016
Apple working on all-new, advanced health-tracking hardware; years in the making – August 9, 2016
The real reason why Apple made the Apple Watch – May 09, 2016
Tim Cook hints Apple might build a health device – November 10, 2015
Apple’s Tim Cook declares the end of the PC and hints at new medical product – November 10, 2015
Apple announces new ResearchKit studies for autism, epilepsy and melanoma – October 15, 2015
GlaxoSmithKline working on integrating Apple’s revolutionary ResearchKit into clinical trials – July 13, 2015
ResearchKit, Apple’s medical data experiment, explained – May 20, 2015
Apple announces ResearchKit available today to medical researchers – April 14, 2015
Why Apple’s ResearchKit signals a golden age for health care – March 28, 2015
ResearchKit: The inside story of how Apple’s revolutionary medical research platform was born – March 19, 2015
Apple’s open source ResearchKit will change the world for the better – March 9, 2015
Apple debuts ResearchKit, giving medical researchers the tools to revolutionize medical studies – March 9, 2015
Great to see Apple’s Health App moving into the health system this way, after all with this being the information age, appropriate sharing and respect of personal data is at the hands of those who can make is so.
My feeling is that Apple has a better opportunity to make a difference in Hospitals and medical field than in Schools due to the budgets in schools are controlled by tight fisted bureaucrats. Expensive schools and cheap hospitals do not qualify, as in good schools will have apple and cheap hospital will miss out in comparison to their better and richer counterparts
I know its only beta, but it seems strange that vitals that are downloaded are part of the health record are not integrated with the vitals section of the health app. For example, if you currently track blood pressure in the health app, and you download health records that contain a blood pressure reading, the downloaded value does not show up in the health app vitals section. To see it, you have to go to the “clinical vitals” section under Health Records.
Sounds like a meta-data inconsistency that they may need to tweak.