Little by little, Apple is strengthening its platform for Cheers for one day, who knows, to transform the iPhone into an indispensable tool for technology users most concerned with their well-being and medical care. One of the most significant steps towards this goal was the launch, on iOS 11.3, of the Health Record feature, which allows users to gather all their medical data (history, tests, medications, laboratory results, vital signs, allergies, conditions , procedures and more) on the Apple platform.
The tool is gradually being released to healthcare organizations, for the time being only in the United States (the full list of institutions can be found here). Now, Apple is planning to take the next step in expanding the feature with a focus on a specific group: US war veterans.
Who informed was the Wall Street Journal: Apple would be arguing with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (the government department dedicated to dealing with veterans and protecting their interests) the possibility to offer all 9 million country veterans to migrate their health data to the company’s platform. Such a transfer would take place through special software, which would provide tools for users to make the process as simple as possible.
Discussions with the department started last year and there is still no information on its progress, but they indicate a renewed momentum by Apple regarding its health platform. The idea, after all, is not simply an altruistic rapture on the part of Cupertino: having access to the health records of 9 million users would be a quick and effective way to expand the database for research, public and market interest on the platform from the company.
Another indication of this onslaught is the supposed Apple plan, also revealed by the WSJ, in which one of the next novelties of the Health app would be the possibility for users to subscribe to services – such as the replacement of prescription drugs – directly through the platform. Such a feature would work in the same way as App Store subscriptions, with Apple taking between 15% and 30% of the revenue generated from the service.
They are promising prospects, but – at least for now – very restricted to the USA and the character, say, particular your health system. It would be interesting to see Apple expand these initiatives internationally … but we know that we will still have to wait a while before that happens.
via MacRumors
