Apple Health Records has come to a handful of Allscripts’ EHR platforms, allowing iPhone users to collate and control their personal health information across different organizations, the EHR vendor announced Thursday afternoon.
Both providers and patients documenting records with Allscripts’ Sunrise, TouchWorks EHR and Professional EHR products will have access to Apple’s platform, which uses the FHIR standard.
The tool is housed with the iPhone’s native Health app, and requires the user’s iPhone passcode, fingerprint or face scan to access. With it, patients can view updated records consisting of their medications, test results, procedures, immunizations and other relevant medical info housed within their chart.
“With Health Records on iPhone, patients can become more active members of their own care team,” Allscripts CEO Paul M. Black said in a statement. “Health Records on iPhone empowers individuals to direct how their own health data is stored and used. We are proud to offer this and other FHIR-connected applications for our clients and their patients.”
WHY IT MATTERS
From the start, Apple has pitched its personal health record feature as a tool for improving patient engagement and consumer access to data.
“Health Records now allows you to have all of your records, if you go to different systems in particular, in one place,” Dr. Sumbul Desai, VP of health at Apple, told MobiHealthNews back in February. “And I will tell you, as a physician I’ll see patients in the ER … and a lot of times the questions we ask are ‘What kind of medications are you on?’ … So now to have an area where I can look at all of that is very helpful. We’re very early in that journey … but there’s a lot of potential there and we’re really excited about what we can do. And we’re really excited that the medical community is excited about it.”
An integration with Allscripts’ platforms stands as a major expansion of Apple’s platform, as the company is among the most prolific EHR vendors with thousands of organizations using its products. So far, the company noted in its announcement that Apple’s tool has already been tested by a sizeable subset of clients that includes: Sharp HealthCare, UT Physicians, Blessing Health System, Erie County Medical Center, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, Digestive Disease Associates and Think Whole Person Healthcare.
“Giving our patients easy and mobile access to their healthcare providers and their health records is important to us,” Rick Pane, Think Whole Person Healthcare’s COO, said in a statement. “Today, people can access all kinds of information. Their own health records should be at the top of the list. At Think, we aim to be the leaders in changing healthcare and helping people to live their healthiest lives. It makes absolute sense to partner with the leader in technology to help do so.”
THE LARGER TREND
Last week’s announcement is the latest in Apple’s efforts to make healthcare and wellness a major part of its business. The tech giant opened up self-registration for Apple Health Records for all US health care organizations with compatible EHRs in late June, months after news that the platform would also be coming to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ network as well.
Beyond personal health records, the company has also begun carrying One Drop’s Health Records-integrated glucose monitoring system in stores; announced period tracking, activity trends and hearing protection as core features of its upcoming WatchOS 6; acquired the maker of a passive health monitoring system; and is pushing to launch its smartwatch ECG functionality across Europe, Canada and other regions.
