VA to provide capability for Veterans to access their VA health data on Apple iPhones

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will release new capabilities this summer providing Veterans who receive care at VA with the ability to access their personal medical data using the Health Records on iPhone feature from Apple.

Veterans will see an aggregated view of their allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures and vitals in the Health app on their iPhone. Health Records on iPhone also brings together hospitals and clinics outside VA with the existing Apple Health app. Veterans can see their available medical data from multiple providers, including VA, whenever they choose.

This new capability has been made possible through the recently announced Veterans Health Application Programming Interface (Veterans Health API). This Veterans Health API allows Veterans to access their health records within innovative applications on their mobile devices or in their web browser.

“Our Health API represents the next stage in the evolution of VA’s patient data access capability,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “By building upon the Veterans Health API, we’re raising the bar in collaborating with private sector organizations to create and deploy innovative digital products for Veterans. Veterans should be able to access their health data at any time, and I’m proud of how far we’ve come to accomplishing this.”

Launched in 2010, VA Blue Button, a feature of My HealtheVet, opened the door for Veterans to download a copy of their VA health records online. The new capability using VA’s Health API and Apple’s Health app furthers VA’s commitment to make it easy for Veterans to securely access their own health data.

Veterans with Apple iPhones will be able to access the app on their device. After a visit to a VA health care facility, the participating Veteran’s Apple device will automatically receive updated health record information within 24 hours from the visit using the built-in Health app from Apple on their iPhone.

Beyond the effort on the Apple iPhone, VA looks forward to partnering with others to bring similar capabilities to other mobile platforms.

Lighthouse, considered the “front door” to VA’s vast data stores, is the department’s API management platform. Since launching Lighthouse in March 2018, VA has delivered a developer portal, a Benefits Intake API, a Facilities API and a Veterans Health API. VA’s Veterans Health API is part of VA’s commitment to health IT modernization, and will contribute to VA’s expansive electronic health record modernization program.

For more information about the Veterans Health API, visit https://developer.va.gov/explore/health