Apple and Veterans Affairs Partner to Launch Digital Health Records

Back in November, it was rumored that Apple was in talks with the Department of Veterans Affairs in the United States to launch digital health records.

Turns out that was indeed the case. Apple has announced this week that it will be teaming up with the VA to launch digital health records for veterans of the United States armed forces. Apple’s announcement says the new feature will be available “soon”, but does not provide a specific date just yet. And, as should be expected, the digital health files will be secured on an iPhone.

“Working with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Apple announced that the Health Records on iPhone feature will be available soon to veterans. For the first time, American veterans receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration will be able to securely view their aggregated health records directly in the Health app on their iPhone.”

This means that veterans will be able to quickly pull up data for “immunizations, lab results, medications, and vitals” right on the device. The data will be secured behind a passcode, along with the standard biometric security options like Touch ID or Face ID.

“With Health Records on iPhone, veterans across the US will be able to see medical information from participating institutions — including the VA — organized into one view all in the Health app. Health records data includes allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures and vitals, and is displayed along with other information in the Health app like Apple Watch data. This means VA patients will get a single, integrated snapshot of their health profile whenever they want quickly and privately.”

Apple introduced health record sharing with iOS 12, and this appears to be a natural extension of that. This will hopefully make it easier for veterans to keep track of important health-related developments, and allow for healthcare professionals to provide the right care for the moment.

[via Apple]

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