Last week we reported Apple is looking to turn the iPhone into a “one-stop-shop” for medical records information. CNBC reports the Cupertino firm is working with a tiny start-up firm called Health Gorilla to help with that initiative.
… The company’s health team has been working with a tiny start-up called Health Gorilla, according to two people familiar with the initiative.
Sources said that Health Gorilla is specifically working with Apple to add diagnostic data to the iPhone, including blood work, by integrating with hospitals, lab-testing companies such as Quest and LabCorp and imaging centers.
The start-up specializes in giving doctors a “complete picture of patient health history,” according to its website. The company has raised just under $5 million in funding. The company was founded by its CEO, Steve Yaskin after talking with a doctor friend who was frustrated with the process of transferring patients’ diagnostic test results.
The firm primarily serves physicians, acting as a marketplace for them to place orders and share medical records. The company also has a free service for patients, which promises to collect their medical information in 10 minutes.
Apple and Health Gorilla spokespeople both declined to comment on the report. Apple has long been in discussions with members of health IT groups that are working to defragment health data.
Currently, patients information cannot be easily shared between doctors. The information is mostly stored in PDF files sent by email or hard copies sent by fax machine. Patients who do have access to “patient portals” to access their medical history are often met with a poor user experience, and a limited amount of information.
