Patients securely accessing health records via a Health app

In October 2020, Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) became one of only two hospitals in the UK to enable patients to view their consolidated healthcare records directly within the Health app on their iPhone.

The feature enables patients to view medical records, including lab results, medications, procedures, allergies, conditions, vital signs and immunisations. It also notifies patients when their data is updated.

Professor Joe Harrison, Chief Executive of Milton Keynes University Hospital

“I regularly hear from our patients that they want more autonomy over their healthcare. Having easy access to their health records is key to this, so enabling access to healthcare information in the Health app was a momentous step forward.

“We are living in a modern world, in which people organise increasingly more aspects of their lives online, and this has been even more the case since the start of the pandemic. At Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH), we want to be at the forefront of making sure the NHS allows patients to do the same.

“MKUH has spent the previous three years trailblazing in the digital healthcare space. We have more than 70,000 people registered to our own MyCARE app, which allows you to book and change appointments, access hospital correspondence and information from your smartphone or other device. Working with Apple has opened access up further for iPhone users with more choice and flexibility as to how people can access their own health data.

“The Health Records feature on the iPhone is part of the Health app, which also shows activity, heart rate, nutrition and other health data consolidated from iPhone, Apple Watch and HealthKit-enabled third party apps. Patients can download their health records by selecting Milton Keynes University Hospital and authenticating with their existing MyCARE credentials. Patients are invited to register with MKUH’s MyCARE patient portal once they come into the care of specific hospital services.

“Clinicians will still contact patients to discuss their care and any test results. It just means patients have the additional opportunity to view this information on their iPhone.

“The flexibility extends to Oxford University Hospitals (the only other hospital in the UK with iPhone Health Records access). As MKUH refers some patients to Oxford’s specialist services, this technology means that patients using both hospitals can view their records from both MKUH and Oxford in one place.”