Apple announced this week that its iPhone Health Records feature will be available soon to veterans.
This development signifies that American veterans receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) will be able to securely view their aggregated health records directly in the Health app on their iPhone, according to Apple officials.
When availability begins, the Health Records on iPhone feature “will be the first record-sharing platform of its kind available to the VA,” which is the largest medical system in the U.S., providing service to more than 9 million veterans across more than 1,200 facilities, officials noted.
Last January, Apple launched its initiative that allows consumers to see their medical records right on their iPhone and began testing the Health Records feature out with 12 hospitals, inclusive of some of the most prominent healthcare institutions in the U.S. Since that time, more than 100 new organizations have joined the project, according to Apple.
A November Wall Street Journal report noted that top VA officials, as well as associates from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, discussed the project in 2017, in a series of emails reviewed by the Journal. The emails show how the Trump administration wrestled early on with the project’s goals, the article stated.
WSJ reporters Ben Kesling and Tripp Mickle wrote at the time, as reported by Healthcare Innovation, “The company’s ultimate goal is to enable patients to import their records and share them with health-related apps, which would use data to provide services like automated prescription refills, according to people familiar with Apple’s plans.” Apple would take a 15 to 30 percent cut of those subscriptions as it does with most apps offered through its App Store, Kesling and Mickle wrote.
According to Apple’s new announcement, with Health Records on iPhone, veterans across the U.S. will be able to see medical information from participating institutions—including the VA—organized into one view all in the Health app. Health records data includes allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures and vitals, and is displayed along with other information in the Health app like Apple Watch data. This means VA patients will get a single, integrated snapshot of their health profile whenever they want, officials attested.
“When patients have better access to their health information, they have more productive conversations with their physicians,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO. “By bringing Health Records on iPhone to VA patients, we hope veterans will experience improved healthcare that will enhance their lives.”
