Sharing the vast amounts of personal healthcare data such as medical images and clinical notes is a technological challenge for traditional electronic health records (EHRs). Other tech giants, such as Apple, might just plan to swoop in and streamline the process.
A recent WIRED article—written by Aneesh Chopra, president of CareJourney, and Shafiq Rab, chief information officer of the Rush University Medical Center—argue Apple’s commitment to an open-platform application programming interface is paving the way for a “consumer data-sharing movement.”
The tech giant previewed an iOS feature that would allow consumer to access EHRs on its phones. Apple proposed a path toward development, authors claim, that will allow doctors and hospitals to easily participate. It will also encourage other platforms to build on that idea and open health data up to people around the world.
“When we look back a decade from now to render judgment, it will be the impact Apple Health has had in changing the default setting in health information sharing—from closed to open,” authors wrote.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.