Health Records on iPhone now available in the UK and a Part of Ontario Canada
The Health Records feature within the Health app is now available for users in the UK and Canada to securely view and store their medical records right on their iPhone, with their privacy protected at all times. Oxford University Hospitals and Women’s College Hospital are among the first healthcare institutions in the UK and Canada to make this feature available to their patients.
Kevin Lynch, Apple’s vice president of Technology: "We designed Health Records on iPhone to empower people to easily view their health records at any time, and we are thrilled to put this feature in the hands of customers in the UK and Canada. We believe people should have access to their health information in the most private and secure way, and we have worked hand in hand with healthcare institutions and organizations to put privacy at the center of the patient experience."
Apple believes privacy is a fundamental human right, and Health Records was designed to protect patients’ privacy at all times by utilizing a direct, encrypted connection between the user’s iPhone and the healthcare organization.
In addition, all Health Records data is encrypted on device and protected with the user’s iPhone passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID. Apple worked closely with Cerner, Epic, Allscripts, and InterSystems to enable the FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) standards-based integration with the Health app for their UK and Canadian customers.
Heather McPherson, president and CEO of Women’s College Hospital. "Women’s College Hospital is proud to be among the first in Canada to offer Health Records on iPhone." At the moment only the single province of Ontario out of 12 provinces across Canada is participating with Apple's Health App extension.
At present there's been no official statement from Health Canada on this development or if this is a one-province experiment. It's a start and only time will tell if this cooperation with the Canadian Government expands across the country.
In Canada (Only Parts of Ontario)
Women’s College Hospital - Toronto, Ontario
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton - Hamilton, Ontario
Mackenzie Health - Richmond Hill, Ontario
In the UK
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Oxford, UK
Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - Milton Keynes, UK
For more on this, read the full Apple press release.
Comments