APPLE USERS CAN ACCESS THEIR HEALTH RECORDS VIA THEIR IPHONES

STUART HIMMEL

Staff Writer

Dr. Danielle Martin has long sought that patients at Women’s College Hospital would be able to find help without barriers, like waiting 45 minutes to see a health care professional.

So when Apple approached the Toronto hospital to be part of the Canadian expansion of its Health Records feature on the iPhone, Martin was eager to participate. The feature allows Apple users in Toronto and surrounding areas to access their existing health records on their mobile, through Apple’s Health app.

Martin said “I have to say it’s very cool. You can see everything you need to know about your own self, all integrated in a very user friendly way”.

Health records from three Ontario hospitals, Women’s College, St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton and Mackenzie Health in Richmond Hill are the first to make this feature available to patients. Other health care institutions across Canada that offer electronic records can sign on as well, Apple said.

Martin called the feature a potential “game changer”. It allows patients to access all of their records in one place instead of relying on health professionals to be kept in the loop about their diagnosis. This is especially important if someone is seeking care at more than one place. Through Apple’s Health app, iPhone users can sign on to view their records through a hospital or health care institution in their area. This will grant them access to immunization records, lab results, allergies, clinical vitals and other information through their phones.

This feature is already available for Apple users in the U.S. where more than 500 institutions have made their records accessible to patients through their iPhones.

Kevin Lynch, Apple’s Vice President of technology, said the company has long aimed for access to health records to be part of the iPhone user’s experience since Apple launched its Health features applica-

tion in 2014. Lynch said the Health Records feature on the iPhone offers a direct link between the user and their health care institution. To access records on their phone, users will be given the option to log in through the institution’s pre-existing electronic health records portal. Their health information is then downloaded on their iPhones using an encrypted connection. Users can also log in with multiple hospitals and institutions if they access care at more than one place. They will also be notified when new data becomes available.

Apple worked with institutions that were already offering electronic health records for patients through a variety of vendors, such as InterSystems, Allscripts and Epic, a program used by Women’s College and hospitals in Alberta. Lynch said this information is then transferred to the iPhone using the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources. Dr. Martin said Women’s College hospital had a thorough privacy and risk assessment process with Apple before signing on. She said if people are still skeptical, they can access the data through the hospital’s portal or request the records in person. Data that can be accessed through Health Records mostly include physical vitals, lab results and imaging results. Martin said electronic health records also have the potential to include information on mental health and some hospitals in Toronto already offer mental health consultation notes as part of their records. If a person with a chronic mental illness ends up in another emergency department, they can access their own notes and share them with the team there.

Allison Paprica, a health policy expert at the University of Toronto, sees great potential for further collaboration between public institutions and private corporations like Apple, especially when it comes to accessibility of patient information. She maintained the need for transparency on privacy issues to make patients comfortable with using Apple’s Health Records feature. She said “It’s not about just providing them with the technical details. It’s really listening to the concerns of people and making sure you’ve got a short, digestible understandable response.”