12 Tips for Storing and Tracking Medical Data on Your iPhone

Apple’s Health app offers a wealth of information related to your medical health and history, your fitness and physical activity, and your vital statistics, all accessible from your iPhone. But there’s even more to the app than meets the eye. You can add your medications and set up alerts for when to take them, share your medical info with your doctor and loved ones, sign up for organ donation, and keep track of your overall health. Here are 12 tips for getting the most out of Apple’s Health app.

1. Create a Medical ID

The medical ID screen in the Health app contains information about your medical conditions, allergies, medications, blood type, and emergency contacts. In the event of an emergency, family members, medical personnel, and others can access these details from your phone’s Lock screen.

To set up your ID and add the necessary data, open the Health app and tap your profile icon in the upper right. Choose Medical ID and then tap the Get Started button.

You can then add your date of birth, medical conditions, medical notes, allergies and reactions, medications, blood type, organ donor status, weight, height, primary language, and emergency contact.

Be sure to turn on Show When Locked and Share During Emergency Call under the Emergency Call section to make your Medical ID accessible from the Lock screen during an emergency.

To access your medical ID, just open the Health app, tap your profile icon, and select Medical ID. But what happens if you’re impaired and unable to use your phone? Someone who needs to view that information, such as a family member or medical professional, can access it from the Lock screen, without needing your passcode.

All they have to do is swipe up on the Lock screen to reveal the login screen (if your phone has a Home button, all they have to do is tap it). From here, they should tap Emergency and then Medical ID to display all your Medical ID information.

2. Sign Up for Organ Donation

You can register as an organ donor directly from the Health app. Tap your profile icon to open your profile screen and then select Organ Donation. Tap the Sign Up with Donate Life button.

Confirm the existing information and add the required details. Tap Continue, review the information at the next screen, and then tap Complete Registration with Donate Life.

3. Enable a Health Checklist

When your iPhone and Apple Watch are paired, you can be alerted if a certain medical condition or ailment is detected. From the Health app, open your profile screen and tap Health Checklist. Apple Watch owners will see options for Fall Detection, Low Heart Rate Notifications, Irregular Rhythm Notifications, Walking Steadiness Notifications, and Noise Notifications.

Tap Enable next to each option in the Inactive section that you wish to monitor. Additional settings can be set for each item, such as keeping Fall Detection on at all times or only during workouts. You can also set the threshold for Low Heart Rate Notifications. When enabled, each item will appear in the Active section.

4. Add Your Medical Records

You can add and view your medical records from supported hospitals and healthcare facilities. For this to work, you’ll need accounts with the medical providers, which you can set up from each provider’s web portal. From the Health app, open your profile screen, tap Health Records, and then select Get Started.

You’re asked to grant permission for the app to access your location. Select Allow While Using App or Allow Once to see a list of nearby hospitals and medical centers. Tap the name of the facility that has your medical records, choose Connect, and then sign in with your account. Confirm that you want access, and the Health app creates a connection.

After connecting with your healthcare providers, you can view your past medical records from the Health app. Tap the Browse icon and swipe down to the Health Records section. Tap All Records to see all your records from every provider you have added to the app.

You can also select a specific category, such as Allergies or Lab Results, to see only those results. Tap a specific provider to see all the records from that facility. Select a specific result to view more details and historical data.

5. Add Your Medications

An option introduced in iOS 16 lets you add and manage your medications. You can even set timers to alert you when to take each one. To set this up, tap the Browse icon at the bottom and select Medications. Tap Add a Medication and then type the name of the medication or scan the name and dosage on a bottle with the phone’s camera. Choose the type of medication, dosage, and frequency.

At the correct time, a notification will pop up to remind you to take the medication. Apple has also improved this reminder in iOS 17. If you don’t confirm that you’ve taken a medication within 30 minutes after the notification, you can choose to get a second reminder.

You can also set up the notifications as critical alerts to see and hear them, even if your phone is in Focus or Do Not Disturb mode. To set these options in the Health app, tap your profile icon and choose Notifications. Tap Medications and choose which ones you want to enable.

6. Track Your Time in Daylight for Vision Health

Studies have indicated that increased time spent in outdoor daylight can reduce the risk of myopia, especially among children. With iOS 17 and watchOS 10 on an Apple Watch, you can get a measurement of the amount of time spent in daylight using its ambient light sensor.

To set this up on your watch, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Health > Time in Daylight and turn on the switch next to Time in Daylight.

To check the time you’ve spent in daylight, open the Health app on your iPhone. Tap the Browse icon at the bottom, then swipe down and tap Other Data. You can select Time in Daylight to view a history of this information.

7. Take a Mental Health Questionnaire

If you’re feeling depressed or anxious, the Health app offers a mental health questionnaire that you can take to better gauge your mood. For this, tap the Browse icon, swipe down to the Get More From Health section, tap Take Questionnaire.

Answer each of the ten questions, then tap Done when finished. In response, the results analyze your risk for anxiety and depression and suggests next steps that you may want to follow.

8. Log Your State of Mind

With iOS 17, you can log your state of mind to track your mood and emotions. In the Health app, tap Browse > State of Mind, and then tap the Log button. You’re then asked to log how you’re feeling now or how you’ve felt all day.

Move the slider to view each state of mind—Very Pleasant, Pleasant, Slightly Pleasant, Neutral, Slightly Unpleasant, Unpleasant, and Very Unpleasant. Stop when the circle shows your current mood and tap Next. You’re then asked why you feel this way. Choose one or more emotions and tap Next.

You can then choose one or more items with the greatest impact on your state of mind, such as Health, Fitness, Family, Work, Travel, or Money.

9. Track Your Health and Fitness

If you have an Apple Watch, the Health app automatically syncs, stores, and displays your activity. But even without an Apple Watch, the app records certain data, especially if you’re using iOS 16 or higher. To view this information in the Health app, tap the Browse icon and select Activity. Swipe down to see your activity for today, the past 7 days, the past 30 days, and earlier.

10. View a Summary of Your Health Information

To view your latest health records, activity data, and other highlights, tap the Summary icon at the bottom of the screen. Swipe down the screen to view each type of data. Tap Show All Highlights to view additional highlights. You can then tap a specific highlight to see its recent results.

11. Share Your Health Information

You can share certain medical and health data with other people, including family members and your own doctor. Tap the Sharing icon at the bottom of the Health app and then tap Share with Someone. You can choose a family member and pick the specific data you wish to share. Tap Share, and the person will receive an invitation to view your data.

To share health information with your doctor or medical facility, tap Sharing and then choose the Share with your doctor link. Tap Next to see a list of compatible providers. To share information this way, your doctor must support the feature, so you’ll want to check with them beforehand. If you see your doctor, tap their name and connect your account.

12. Check Your Health Data On iPad

Your iPhone isn’t the only device that can serve up your medical data. With iPadOS 17, the Health app has finally made its way onto your iPad. With this version of the app, you can view your health records and medical results, add medical providers, log your state of mind, manage medications, and share your data with others.