Stanford University's healthcare system has jumped to the forefront of the Apple HealthKit development race with the launch of an app that synchs with Apple's platform and the system's Epic EMR.
The iOS 8 MyHealth mobile app, developed in-house by Stanford Health Care engineers, is designed to allow patients to manage care from their iPhones and iPads, including scheduling visits, managing bills, reviewing test results, managing prescriptions and communicating via video with physicians.
Stanford joins a growing number of health systems either using or planning on using the HealthKit platform. A Reuters report recently noted that 14 of the top 23 hospitals in the country are eyeing the platform, and such high-profile systems as the Duke University School of Medicine and Ochsner Health have already implemented the technology.
Few, however, have launched their own app.
"We are reinventing how healthcare is delivered and our new custom MyHealth app is an important milestone in our efforts," Amir Dan Rubin, Stanford Health Care's president and CEO, said in a press release. "We provide care for some of the most technologically sophisticated patient in the country, whose lives revolve around innovation. After carefully evaluating all of the available mobile technologies, we recognized that to meet the needs and expectations of our patients we had to develop our own solution that worked seamlessly with our existing electronic health record system."
The app also supports Stanford Health Care's ClickWell Care online physician platform, enabling patients to communicate with their care team, and a wellness coaching program with a certified personal trainer. It also synchs with mobile devices, so that patients can gather, store and send physiological data from their homes to their healthcare providers.
"The app allows patients to connect their lives with their healthcare," Prayene Nath, MD, the system's chief information officer, said in the release. "By integrating with companies like Withings, our physicians have access to meaningful patient data right in Epic, without having to ask the patient come in for an appointment. We belive this is the future of how care will be delivered for many types of chronic conditions."
