Apple is Making It Simple to Manage Your Medical Records from Your iPhone

Apple is Making It Simple to Manage Your Medical Records from Your iPhone

Apple’s latest iPhone feature may require you to make space – maybe delete that Angry Birds app – for a big chunk of (important) data: your medical records.

The Health Records feature, part of the existing Health app, will now let users keep their disparate pieces of their medical records — including health history, immunization records, allergies, prescription drug lists and test results in their pocket, according to an announcement from Apple.

Apple wants your medical information to be as accessible as financial or personal records, they said, streamlining your hodge-podge of medical data. All data stored on the app will indeed be encrypted and password-protected, Apple adds.

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Big-name health care providers across the U.S. have already signed on to participate in the beta version of the feature, including Johns Hopkins Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Penn Medicine and UC San Diego Health.

Related: Apple to Push Organ Donations on New iOS 10 Health App

Through Health Records, patients will receive their medical information from these participating providers, relaying the data directly onto their phones. Once users accept the service via the Health app, they’ll have full access to their information, as well as notifications if there are any updates or changes.

This feature is yet another addition that emphasizes Apple’s dedicated investment to health and wellness.

The newest Apple Watch, for example, doubles as a continuous heart rate monitor, which could be a valuable tool in treating heart disease. Late last year, Apple announced GymKit, a program that’ll sync their watch wear with exercise equipment. In 2016, the tech mogul picked up the health data storage platform Gliimpse, which in retrospect, may’ve foreshadowed or inspired this latest innovation.

Photo Credit: Hadrian/Shutterstock.com; ymgerman/Shutterstock.com

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