ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic patients who have a Patient Online Services account now can use Health Records on iPhone, which allows users to easily view their health data from multiple health care providers in one place. Patient Online Services is Mayo Clinic’s patient portal.
Health Records allows iPhone users to gather their health records from Mayo Clinic and other health care institutions into a central view, along with patient-generated health and nutrition data from devices such as smartwatches.
“There are more ways than ever for patients to be actively engaged in their health care, and smartphone apps can be helpful for accessing records and tracking daily fitness and diet,” says Steve Ommen, M.D., medical director of Experience Products for Mayo Clinic’s Center for Digital Health. “We want patients who are interested in these apps to be able to use them securely and enhance their health care at Mayo Clinic.”
Use of Health Records in iPhone’s Health app is optional and will not change or affect the user’s Patient Online Services account. Mayo Clinic patients with Android phones can use a similar health records app, which is called CommonHealth.
Health Records protects patients’ privacy by using an encrypted connection between the user’s iPhone and health care organizations. Downloaded health records are stored on the user’s device and encrypted with the user’s passcode. Users access their Mayo Clinic health records by authenticating with their Patient Online Services username and password. Health Records is available on iPhones but not iPads.
“We know that our patients want the ease and convenience of having access to their electronic health records. Increasingly, health care providers will be required to make this information available to patients,” Dr. Ommen says. “Our goal is to make the process as secure and transparent as possible, with patients in control of what they choose to share.”
###
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. For information on COVID-19, including Mayo Clinic’s Coronavirus Map tracking tool, which has 14-day forecasting on COVID-19 trends, visit the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Resource Center.
