Researchers from UC San Diego Health released a study that showed users were favorable toward Apple’s Health Records service, though it has yet to be widely embraced.
The monthslong study surveyed patients about the Apple technology. The university’s hospital sent the survey to 425 patients who activated the app in 2018. Results were recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, CNBC reported.
Of the respondents, 96% said they had little problem connecting to their health data through the app, while 78% indicated satisfaction with the service. Ninety percent said the technology allowed them to easily share their health data with friends and family.
By then end of the year, the hospital said users participating in the study had downloaded “thousands” of clinical results, including lab results, immunizations, charts and more.
“We had a high response rate, with some positive responses, but these were also early adopters,” Christopher Longhurst, a spokesman for the hospital, told CNBC.
Widespread use of electronic databases has been difficult for hospitals due to complicated technology interfaces, privacy and coordination of sometimes multiple information platforms, however, with the increased adoption of mobile platforms by consumers, the trend may be moving toward such use.
The key, Longhurst said, will be for tech companies like Apple, to show that the app is “useful, sustainable, scalable, and actually improves health outcomes.”