Every Little Thing You Do Is Data

You wear your FitBit® 24/7. You’re religiously logging every meal. You’ve got your running app tracking your distance, steps, and calories, and your sleep app is tracking whether you’re giving your sleep the priority it needs for your health. But that data stays with you. Should it?

More and more, doctors are saying that this information can help create a more complete picture of your health and has a place in your electronic medical record. After all, you’re only in the doctor’s office for a few minutes every year, but your wearable devices and your apps are with you around the clock. How can your doctor give you the most personalized treatment without an understanding of how your health changes throughout the months between visits?

That’s why Cedars-Sinai, an Epic community member, decided that all their patients would have the option to make their health and wellness information a part of their charts, leveraging Apple’s HealthKit. Here’s how it works: Personal apps on your phone can save data to HealthKit and, with your permission, your MyChart can send that data right to your medical record. Your doctor can take a quick glance at your next visit to help you make sure you’re on track to achieve your goals.

This integration is already available to be set up with Apple’s HealthKit, but we’re looking forward to exploring other platforms for Android apps.

In a changing healthcare landscape where data helps drive decision making more than ever, doctors can get a leg up on disease by knowing more about a patient’s life outside the exam room. Using the data from devices is one way to give doctors the most information, which gives you the best care.