For some physicians, logging into patient records is going to be as easy as looking at their phone. This week, drchrono became the first medical record company to implement Apple’s facial recognition ID as a way access EHRs. CNBC first reported the news.

“The login experience for the doctor adversely affects the patient-doctor experience,” drchrono COO and cofounder Daniel Kivatinos told MobiHealthNews. “Think about the way doctors are interacting with their EHRs right now — it’s almost a barrier when they first walk in the room with the patients.” 

Kivatinos said that facial recognition technology allows the provider to login within seconds and creates a more natural experience for both the patient and provider. Other systems often require a password and prompts, which Kivatinos said is distracting to the patient. 

“You literally raise your phone and the phone opens, then you launch the app you want and the app opens,” Kivatinos said. 

He also said this technology could be key in accessing records in an emergency situations. 

“People don’t realize how long it takes. There are millions of hours wasted,” Kivatinos said. “It is leveraging what the iPhone 10 has.”

As for security, Kivatinos said he had to refer back to Apple, who produced the facial recognition technology used by drchrono. But he compared the new system to the touch ID, which is already being used. Drchrono was also the first EHR to implement Touch ID. 

“This is the same thing, but even more amazing because the physician can get to it even faster,” Kivatinos said. 

Currently, the product is geared towards providers to assist in record access, but the company plans on expanding the technology to patients logging into their medical records. Kivatinos said that it could be particularly useful to patients who don’t log in to their medical records everyday and might not remember their password. 

Drchrono holds over 10 million patient medical records, or roughly 3 percent of the US population, Kivatinos said. The Mountain View, California-based company was founded in 2009 and allows physicians and patients to access records online or from a phone or tablet. It was the first EHR to build a native app for iPads and iPhones. The company also works with billing solutions and practice management. In April the drchrono announced that it raised $12 million in new funding to become more competitive with larger EHR providers.