In the age of wearables and smartphones, more and more consumers are tracking health-related data on their smart devices. From tracking steps to monitoring your list of medications, Apple’s Health app has been one of the most well-known health trackers on the market. With direct reach to a large customer base, which boasts over 85 million iPhone users older than 13, Apple has been increasingly finding new ways to edge into the healthcare industry. Now, the company is expanding even further with a new deal to integrate patient health records into certain Allscripts EHR suites.
The integration will allow patients using Apple Health to combine and control their personal health information across a variety of organizations. Both providers and patients that use Allscripts’ Sunrise, TouchWorks and Professional EHR products will have access to Apple’s health platform.
“With Health Records on iPhone, patients can become more active members of their own care team,” said Paul M. Brick, Allscripts’ CEO.
Prior to the integration, patient information could be housed in multiple different locations, requiring patients to have to piece together their health data manually after logging into each provider’s site. Apple Health provides a central location for participating groups to store medical information such as allergies, lab results and medications. Patients will also receive a notification when their data has been updated, allowing for management of their information right at their fingertips.
“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,” said Brick.
While the partnership with Allscripts is a major move for the company’s healthcare ventures, this isn’t Apple’s first time integrating medical information into health systems. Last year, they announced a FHIR-enabled health record feature that allowed patients across hundreds of hospitals and clinics to access medical information in one consolidated view. But this year’s move, given the thousands of organizations that use Allscripts’ products and millions of consumers with access to an iPhone, Apple Health is proving to be a major contender in the healthcare space.
