The importance of owning your personal data on your terms is of critical importance to us here at digi.me.
And health data is front and centre of that, which is why we have just launched a living lab in Iceland, allowing citizens there to download an electronic version of their health record. Exciting stuff and a world first – but mainly incredibly useful for all sorts of reasons.
Holding your own data so you can do more with it guides everything we do, so we were delighted that Apple is apparently working along the same lines as us.
According to this report: “CNBC has learned that a secretive team within Apple’s growing health unit has been in talks with developers, hospitals and other industry groups about bringing clinical data, such as detailed lab results and allergy lists, to the iPhone, according to a half-dozen people familiar with the team. And from there, users could choose to share it with third parties, like hospitals and health developers.”
As with digi.me, the applications for work like this are legion, ranging from simply having all your health data at your fingertips whenever you need it, to speeding up information sharing between different medical organisations and cutting out major time and frustrations for referrals.
The health service is ripe for reform, and health data is at the centre of that. So any work done in this arena is a boost to all, with the potential for truly universal benefits.