Apple’s technology within the healthcare space started in 2014 with the release of the Health app available on the iPhone and in 2015 Apple introduced the Apple Watch. Since then, Apple has evolved and innovated their technology to help empower their users to live a healthier lifestyle and to gather more medical information to help bridge the gap between the patient and provider.
The Apple Watch and Health app focuses on 17 different areas of health and fitness and users can store 150 types of data that pertains to their health. Apple has taken their health technology one step further and has a Health Records tool where users can store their medical documents, lab results, medications and much more. The Health Records is available on the Health app and over 800 institutions across 12,000 locations are using the Health Records app. The question remains, do users trust putting all their personal health information into their phone? Do they trust Apple to keep their information secure?
As digital privacy has been a concern for the public, Apple has released many statements reassuring their commitment to keeping their user data encrypted and safe. Does touch ID, face ID and passcodes make users feel like their information is safe? There is still the option that a hacker can get the data and leak it as well. Do the risks outweigh the pros when it comes to the benefit of the new Health App? I would say it does.
There is always going to be the possibility that our information and data will be leaked, but the Health App and Apple watch can give data and insight to providers to help save a patient’s life. Many times, a patient is in the office and the doctor will see how they are in that moment, but the apple watch continuously collects data about someone all day long that the doctor can now read and come to a better diagnose. Not only that but a huge benefit of Apple having the Health Records tool is for patients to store all their medical information in one place. Have you ever had to email your records to a provider’s office because they couldn’t find your records from another doctor? It would save time doctors and office staff when it comes to collecting and hunting down that information.
Overall, the benefits outweigh the risk of data getting leaked. While it may take Apple time to build trust in the medical community and with its users about their data privacy, I do think Apple is on to something that may become the centralized place for Healthcare data.
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Sources:
How Apple is empowering people with their health information. Apple Newsroom. (2022, September 20). Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/07/how-apple-is-empowering-people-with-their-health-information/
Rice, A. (2022, July 20). Why Apple wants users to store their health data on their devices. Healthline. Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/apple-wants-users-to-store-their-health-data-on-their-devices-is-it-a-good-idea#Should-you-store-health-records-on-your-device