Accessing health data from the Apple Health app is now much easier for doctors after the iOS 15 update

People with wearable devices and smartphones often show up in doctors’ offices with apps, and these app readings cover everything related to sleep patterns and heart rate. 

With the new iOS 15 updates, some iPhone users can directly send data from their health app to their doctor’s electronic medical record system. According to Libo Wang, a cardiology researcher at the University of Utah School of Medicine, this integration may be easier for patients and doctors to share information. “The current workflow is a bit labor-intensive and requires patients to send a pdf file via email, and then the doctor manually uploads the file to create a permanent record in the official electronic medical record,” he said in an email. 

Starting in 2018, users at other addresses have obtained data; Apple allows users to add records from dozens of hospitals and clinics to its health app. In the United States, the new integration will work with six electronic medical records companies. The company said it would continue to add more. Doctors who use these company records inpatient health records can open any shared data. In the record, the dashboard opens directly as a web view. According to Apple, the design is similar in the records of the six companies. In electronic health records, data from the Health app is not directly transmitted. 

The clinician can see a window with the data, but the information will not be permanently added to the record. If the user decides to stop sharing data with the health record, there is nothing left. The system was built using a framework network called SMART in FHIR. It is an open interface for third-party applications and can work in electronic medical records. Using this platform, any group can create applications. According to Wang, direct access to iPhone data can help doctors and cardiologists in the health registry use this information in a meaningful way. A study in 2020 found that when doctors directly viewed the bands generated by Apple Watch that visually display the user’s heart rate, they could detect more abnormal heart rhythms than the algorithm in the Watch. The things that are most important to you, such as exercise time or vital signs. Highlights then provide the front and center of that information. With interactive charts, you can quickly view health trends over a period of time and gain deeper insights. See how your cholesterol or blood pressure has changed over the years. Even check your exercise activity for a day, a week, or a month. 

The Health app can integrate data from thousands of third-party apps designed to promote healthier habits, from nutrition to meditation to fitness. You can even find app recommendations for the health categories you are interested in. The data collected from the app is stored, and the data from the Apple Watch and the information you record directly on your iPhone. It allows you to put all health and fitness information under your control and save it in one place on the device. You decide what information to put into Health and which apps can access your data through the Health app. When your phone is locked by a password, Touch ID, or Face ID, all your health and fitness data in the “Health” app will be encrypted except for your medical ID. 

Your health data will be automatically kept up-to-date using iCloud on all your devices and will be encrypted during transmission and at rest. Apps that access HealthKit must have privacy policies, so be sure to review these policies before providing apps with access to your health and fitness data.