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Apple's Health Records Feature Will Be Available Soon to U.S. Veterans

Monday February 11, 2019 6:56 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today announced that its Health Records feature on iPhone will be available soon to military veterans across the United States.


In partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, American veterans receiving care through the Veterans Health Administration will be able to view their aggregated health records directly in the Health app on their iPhone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook:
We have great admiration for veterans, and we're proud to bring a solution like Health Records on iPhone to the veteran community. It's truly an honor to contribute to the improved healthcare of America's heroes.
Apple introduced the Health Records feature in iOS 11.3 in March 2018, allowing patients to view their medical records from multiple participating hospitals and clinics directly in the Health app on the iPhone, including allergies, vital signs, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, and procedures.

More than 100 institutions in the U.S. support Apple Health Records, including Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.

UC San Diego Health recently conducted a survey about Apple Health Records and found that 78 percent of patients were "satisfied with using the feature", according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Tag: Apple Health Records
[ 36 comments ]

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Mobster1983
9 months ago

I hope they do a better job securing important confidential medical records than they did with securing group facetime, veterans don't need more anxiety :rolleyes:


As a disabled veteran, my info has been leaked so many times I figure it is public knowledge at this point. ;)

This is really awesome to hear. Will be nice to finally be able to keep track of everything.
Rating: 15 Votes
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gaximus
9 months ago
I've been waiting for this for so long, usually the VA is the last to get any new technology.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Rainshadow
9 months ago

I guess this will be somewhat useful to affluent healthy veterans - as long as their provider finds this useful. But realistically how many of those veterans who really need medical and mental services - already on the edge can afford to tool around with the latest iPhones?


You make it sound like there aren’t many healthy, affluent veterans... What’s more, why do they have to “tool around with” the latest iPhones? I don’t see anything in the article stating they need to be using a recent iPhone. Even the 5s has the health app... People in all levels of financial security have smartphones, and many of them have iPhones. The key is getting the institution to use the tech.
Rating: 4 Votes
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calzon65
9 months ago
I hope they do a better job securing important confidential medical records than they did with securing group facetime, veterans don't need more anxiety :rolleyes:
Rating: 4 Votes
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gaximus
9 months ago

Veterans don't need overpriced devices to access MyHealthEVet. Pass.

They don't need, but they may want it. The MyHealthEVet is one of the worst sites I've ever had to navigate (It has been getting better lately), But I, in the last few days, needed to get data from my labs. It takes 10 clicks, plus typing in a username and password, just to get to the data I need. And that knowing exactly how to get to it, the first time I tried I spend 15 minutes just trying to figure out where I needed to be. If it's in the health app it would be so much easier to get to.
Rating: 3 Votes
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SatManager
9 months ago
Probably the same percentage of the American Public that needs health care. The vets I know are not necessarily all poor. Technology challenged maybe, but not all poor. Some could not afford an iPhone, but most can.

And this is from a 100% disabled vet with the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Rating: 3 Votes
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outskirtsofinfinity
9 months ago
Horrifying. Truly a privacy-breach disaster waiting to happen...
Rating: 2 Votes
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Sandstorm
9 months ago
I will probably be dead by the time any of these solutions (health records, apple watch ECG, etc) become available internationally. :(
Rating: 2 Votes
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truthertech
9 months ago

I guess this will be somewhat useful to affluent healthy veterans - as long as their provider finds this useful. But realistically how many of those veterans who really need medical and mental services - already on the edge can afford to tool around with the latest iPhones?


Nice try, but virtually every one of our millions of veterans needs or will need medical care, ranging from routine to extreme. Most, not all, can have access to smart phones, including iPhones, and this will benefit them. That's why hundreds of major medical institutions and the VA are working with Apple on this free service.

And "nice" try with the canard of veterans needing "the latest iPhone" in order to participate; it's just an app that you can run on any iPhone that can run iOS 12.
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Veterans don't need overpriced devices to access MyHealthEVet. Pass.



Thankfully, this program's fate didn't depend on your dislike of Apple. Instead, evidence based practices ruled and hundreds of major medical groups, and crucially the VA, have seen the results of the testing, and with Apple's help this will be available to millions of vets who will have access to this free app to improve their health! Amen.
Rating: 2 Votes
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extrachrispy
7 months ago
Given the VA's history as The Place Where Health Records Go to Die, this will be a boon. Fort Bliss has no record of the care my gf received in Temple (Ft. Hood), which has no record of the care she received in Roseburg. There has been *some* sharing between Roseburg and OSHU, but it's pitiful. Were she not careful enough to have a copy of her records on a thumb drive, none of the VA hospitals would have any knowledge of what the others have done for (to) her.

Getting veterans' health records into iOS will be invaluable at reducing incompetent, indifferent malpractice at the VA.
Rating: 1 Votes

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