Apple and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are reportedly in talks to put veterans' health records on their iPhones, people familiar with the matter and emails reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show.
Under the proposed partnership, Apple would create "special software tools" that would enable the VA's estimated 9 million patients to store their health records on their iPhones. Apple would also provide engineering support to the VA. The goal is to attract new customers to Apple’s platform, as well as "simplify patents' hospital visits," according to the WSJ.
An Apple spokesperson told the WSJ the company has nothing to announce.
The work with the VA would be independent of Apple's existing efforts to put patient health records in their own hands, the report states. In January, Apple unveiled a project to bring select information from patient health records — such as allergies, immunizations and lab results — to patients' iPhones via the Health app. Today, more than 100 hospitals and providers have adopted the initiative.
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