Exclusive Article by Dawn Castell
Traditionally, hospitals and doctors have been responsible for storing all the health records of patients. Medical practitioners have for an extended period proved to be the most confidential health partners. They have kept sensitive information concerning a particular patient without disclosing to any individual. Given that different caregivers attend to a specific patient, the health records of a single person are likely to be at the hands of various health facilities. This means that a patient is expected to access different websites to access their health records.
Apple’s Strategy
Apple incorporation has devised a strategy to change this approach by developing a mobile application that consolidates all the health records belonging to a particular individual. This means that all the health details of a person such as treatment procedures, lab results, and expected medication can easily be accessed on a mobile device. A person will quickly see how their health challenges have been addressed by the medical facilities and the expected medicine. Additionally, an update on the health records of a patient will be received on the mobile app through notification.
Apple’s strategy has been received with massive relief from many patients who had to log in to various websites before getting their health information. They can now easily see their health records in their hands. The new technology has been adopted by multiple medical facilities in the United States such as John Hopkins among others. However, some of the medical facilities are yet to embrace the new technology due to various reservations. Nevertheless, the majority of them are expected to join the trail shortly.
Many people are yet to fully understand the purpose of having health records on the mobile phone. Some people have remained skeptical about the new move because they are yet to realize the benefits that come with having all the health records in a mobile application. Here are the benefits that Apple wants to bring to the health industry in the United States.
Access to Health Records
Given that all the health records are stored by the medical practitioner or the health facility that a patient attends. This means that a patient will be required to travel to the facility or log in to the facilities website, if there is any, to access his/her health records. This is a complicated process that makes many individuals not to understand or keep track about their health as time passes. Apple’s strategy to bring health records on the mobile device will help individuals to access their health records as and when they need.
Patients Involvement
The role of treating a patient has for a long time been reserved for the doctors and other people with medical knowledge. This has eliminated the role of the patient in participating when their health is concerned. Giving patients the power to see their health records is an indirect strategy of involving patients in their treatment process. For example, patients can easily see the drug they used the previous time when they had visited the hospital. If such a drug did not work, a patient would remind the doctor about it upon which the health practitioner will be obligated to change medication.
Data Protection
Data protection is emerging as a critical component in the healthcare sector where cybercriminals are using malware to access private records in hospital computers. Additionally, keeping personal data in hand copies is not the best as some of the files get lost or torn which makes it difficult to protect such information. Transferring health records in a mobile application means that the data is currently protected by the necessary network monitoring solutions available in the industry. Cybercriminals will now find it difficult to access and manipulate personal health records under the new network.
Real-Time Notification
Patients can now receive a notification message on the mobile application when their health records are updated. The real-time notification about the health of a particular person will help them make immediate decisions about their health such as seeking medication among others.
