Apple, VA To Provide Health Records To 9M Veterans

Tech giant Apple will provide its Health Records feature on the iPhone to the upwards of nine million veterans in facilities all over the country, according to reports.

“We have great admiration for veterans, and we’re proud to bring a solution like Health Records on iPhone to the veteran community,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. “It’s truly an honor to contribute to the improved healthcare of America’s heroes.”

Veterans will be able to peruse their health records and see secure medical info, all organized in one app on their iPhones. Things like immunizations, conditions, allergies, procedures and lab results will all be displayed, and veterans will be able to see a summarized health profile on demand.

“When patients have better access to their health information, they have more productive conversations with their physicians,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s COO. “By bringing Health Records on the iPhone to VA patients, we hope veterans will experience improved healthcare that will enhance their lives.”

Apple VP of Technology Kevin Lynch said he was excited to bring the feature to veterans. “Our goal is to empower people to better understand and improve their health, enabling them to view their medical information from multiple providers in one place easily and securely,” he said.

The VA is the largest medical system in the United States, with 1,243 facilities.

The announcement is a victory for the company, especially since other companies have previously made unsuccessful forays into the field. Google Health, which shuttered in 2011, was one endeavor that failed to get any momentum. Apple is trying to avoid those mistakes by partnering with health institutions to get their support for the feature.

Google, however, is not out of the space completely; the company recently hired David Feinberg, a former hospital chief executive, to manage its future healthcare endeavors.