Apple has announced that it will soon support accessing digital health records for veterans through the Health app on iPhone. The development is part of a new agreement with the US Department of Veterans.
Health record-sharing supports easily and securely viewing official “immunizations, lab results, medications, and vitals” from your healthcare provider all in one place on the iPhone. Apple says health records are secured through encryption and accessible only with a passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID (fingerprint or facial recognition).
Apple made the announcement in a Newsroom press release today:
Health records on iPhone will mark the first digital health record-sharing project that the VA has accepted, according to the announcement, with 9 million veterans eligible for viewing digital health records on iPhone.
Apple’s Jeff Williams and Kevin Lynch who both work on health and Apple Watch-related efforts at Apple had this to say:
The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was in talks with the VA last fall in an effort to make digital health records more accessible for veterans.
Digital health records are accessible with permission through Apple’s built-in Health app on iPhone. Apple started supporting the simple health record-sharing feature with iOS 12. Health record-sharing already works with a huge number of health providers across the United States in addition to the VA. You can view the full list of health providers that support health records in Apple’s Health app here.
