Another major health system is signing on the let patients view and share their medical records using their Apple device.

Last week, Cleveland Clinic became the latest hospital or health system to launch Health Records available on the Apple app. In January, Apple announced it was adding a feature called Health Records to its health app that will let consumers access and share electronic health information with their providers. And about a dozen big hospitals are already on board to participate. Those hospitals include John Hopkins Medicine, Cedars-Sinai, Penn Medicine, Geisinger Health System, UC San Diego Health, UNC Healthcare, Rush University Medical Center, Dignity Health, Oschner Health System, MedStar Help, Ohio Health and Cerner Health.

To date, more than 50 health systems have launched Health Records with Cleveland Clinic being the latest. “Access to one’s own medical records is a crucial part of the digital transformation taking place in healthcare today, and enhances our relationship with our patients,” says neurosurgeon and Cleveland Clinic medical director of digital health Peter Rasmussen. “Our goal is to make that access as easy, convenient and useful as possible, placing patients firmly in the center of their own health data.”

Consumers can have medical information from various institutions organized into one view covering allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures and vitals. They also will receive notifications when their data is updated. Health records data is encrypted and protected with the user’s iPhone passcode, Apple says.

At Cleveland Clinic, patients can view their personal health information, including allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures and vitals, while also helping them organize medical information from various institutions into one view. Patients receive notifications when their data is updated.

“When patients have direct access to their personal health information they are able to track important health factors, such as weight or cholesterol or blood sugar, to determine their own personal trends over time,” says Cleveland Clinic maternal-fetal medicine specialist and Cleveland Clinic chief medical information officer Amy Merlino. “They are able to easily see a combined view of their information from multiple health systems, as well as have the ability to share their healthcare history with other providers.”

Digital healthcare grew rapidly in 2017 at the Cleveland Clinic:

• The number of annual virtual visits grew 163% to 25,502 sessions from 9,700 sessions.
• In 2017, Cleveland Clinic patients booked more than 155,000 online appointments.
• More than 1 million patients accessed their electronic medical records.
• 10,500 referring physicians now use Dr. Connect, an electronic tool that gives them access to their patient’s treatment progress while at the clinic

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