Apple is working with electronic medical record companies, notably Epic Systems, Cerner and AthenaHealth, to make it easier for people to view that information on the iPhone. That way, they can simply pull it up and suggest their doctor take a look.
Medical record vendors “have been an enabling, and not a blocking factor, and we appreciate that,” Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of technology, told CNBC. Apple is working alongside these companies to take advantage of a protocol for exchanging electronic health records, known as FHIR.
In the future, hospitals and clinics will be able to register themselves for the service without going through an Apple representative.
Apple has stressed that its primary goal is to give users a better experience and not to sell more iOS devices. Still, the Apple Watch is increasingly positioning itself as a health and fitness device, which also has the potential to save lives by tracking the user’s heart health.
And the new service, which is part of the iOS 11.3 beta, could be a draw to iPhones, particularly for users with multiple chronic conditions who will benefit most from access to their medical records.
