We don’t always think about the vast amount of health information that’s available at our fingertips—or on our wrists. But for those of us with an iPhone, Apple Watch and other tracking apps, there’s an opportunity to keep tabs on our health and stay better connected to our health care providers.

Click here to connect your ChristianaCare patient portal to Apple Health. 

ChristianaCare is one of the first health systems in the nation to give patients the opportunity to directly share their health information stored in the Apple Health app with their health care provider. At the time, the tool is available to patients at our Delaware-based health facilities.

This means everyday data like step counts, activity tracking, heart rate, sleep and more, can be accessed by your health care team through your electronic health record. This additional information – which is completely voluntary to share – offers a more complete picture of your day-to-day health. It can also help you have richer conversations with your health care team about actionable steps to improve your health.

How to share your Apple Health data with your health care team

Access to this feature is available to users of the iPhone who are using iOS 15. Information from your iPhone, Apple Watch and compatible third-party apps and devices is consolidated through the Apple Health app.

That means the details of your last spin class or readings from app-enabled blood pressure cuff can be connected to the Apple Health app.

To share information in your Health app with your provider

  1. Update your iPhone to iOS 15.
  2. Select the Sharing tab within the Health app.
  3. After tapping “share with your doctor” at the bottom, search for and select ChristianaCare
  4. Authenticate with your patient portal username and password.
  5. Select the categories of Health app data you’d like to to securely share with a chosen provider.

What your health care team sees

If you choose to share this data, your health care team can view it in a web-based view in your electronic health record.

Keeping this data private remains a top priority. Apple does not have access to the encryption keys and cannot view what patients have shared.

This sharing feature also is designed to meet the privacy and security requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The benefits of data-sharing

So, what can this real-time data do? For providers and patients, it can help get a conversation started, whether it’s about challenges to getting enough sleep, the benefits of regular glucose testing or opportunities to inject physical activity into the day.

This real-time data can deepen the relationship, increase trust and provide an opportunity improve health.

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