How Are Apps and APIs Helping People Take Control of Their Health?

Apps and APIs help people take control of their health by giving them easier, faster access to their own medical records. According to the ONC, about 3 in 5 individuals were offered and accessed their online medical record or patient portal in 2022, a 50% increase since 2020, and people who used an app accessed their records more often than web-only users.

They say that information equals power, and time is money. If that’s the case, health APIs and apps are here to make your body richer and more powerful.

Patient access to online medical records grew 50% in two years: the ONC data brief on patient portal and app use in 2022 reports that about 3 in 5 individuals were offered and accessed their online medical record or patient portal in 2022.

Web-only access has decreased and is being replaced by apps. Smartphone health apps use APIs to connect patients with their medical records and potentially with their healthcare providers.

Yes: in the ONC survey, people who accessed their online medical records through an app did so more often than those who used only a website. Easier, faster access to medical data appears to help patients be more proactive with their health.

Easier record access is a valuable tool for health providers, but it is only the spark. The larger shift will come from mass adoption of health data analysis through APIs that turn continuous health data into actionable information. It sounds futuristic, but it is already real. ROOK moves and standardizes the data; it does not diagnose or replace clinical judgment. To see how that data reaches an app, read how to access health data from wearables.