Oschner is first system to link its EHR with Apple HealthKit

Ochsner Health System (OHS), based in New Orleans, has successfully integrated its Epic EHR with Apple HealthKit. Ochsner was one of three health systems tapped to beta-test the iOS8-integrated application.

“In the past, we relied on patients to log information, bring it to us, and then we would input the data and decide a course of action,” said Robert Bober, MD, director of cardiac molecular imaging at Ochsner Medical Center. “Now we can share information seamlessly between patient and physician to allow real-time, accurate analysis of a patient’s health status. This is ideal for patients with chronic diseases such as heart failure, hypertension and diabetes.”

Ochsner has developed its own interfaces to integrate information into the medical record, and the linkage with Apple HealthKit means that “patients can choose which information will be shared with us automatically,” said Richard Milani, MD, chief clinical transformation office at OHS.

Ochsner also was the first organization to successfully implement Fitbit and Withings auto-sync integration with MyCharts so patients can use their blood pressure monitor at home, which would automatically populate the Epic chart, according to the health system.