It looks like Apple will be heading into the Healthcare Industry as their upcoming IOS 11.3 update will enable patients to view EMR’s or Electronic Medical Records as well as other pertinent clinical information right from their Apple device. This new Health Records feature utilizes the existing Health app currently on devices and goes a step further in allowing medical facilities to connect with you via API from their EMR systems so that they can share data back and forth between you and them. Currently, 12 hospitals have signed on to test this beta software including well-known hospitals like: Johns Hopkins Medicine, Penn Medicine, and Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. In fact, just last week, Apple had announced this update regarding the Health App bringing together all hospitals and clinics so that it could eventually be easy for all users to have access to their medical data and have a choice when it comes to choosing their provider. John Halamka, CIO of CareGroup Healthcare Systems saw this innovation and stated that, “Apple is significantly accelerating the provider-to-patient-to-provider approach with IOS 11.3.” With technology constantly innovating in this space, it’s exciting to see the immense possibilities that will come into play in the years to come.
