You can store medical records on your phone. Is that healthy?

HOW TO KEEP TRACK OF YOUR HEALTH RECORDS ON YOUR SMARTPHONE If you are comfortable downloading health records onto your phone, follow these steps to proceed. ON AN IPHONE’S HEALTH APP: 1. 

Tap the icon for the HEALTH app on your phone. It has a red heart ❤️ in the upper-right corner of a white background. 2. Tap the BROWSE icon at the bottom right of the app screen. 3. Scroll

to the bottom in the HEALTH RECORDS section and tap ADD ACCOUNT. 4. Scroll down the list of suggested medical organizations, which may show providers in your general location. Tap the name

of the hospital or provider whose records you seek. If you don’t see a match, enter the name of the hospital, network or location in the search box at the top of the screen, then tap the

name of your provider, if found. 5. Tap CONNECT ACCOUNT, which brings you to the login for the health institution. Enter your username and password for that organization, if you have one.

Some providers, though not all, will let you sign up for an account within the Apple Health app. If not, you may have to set up a patient account on a computer. Depending on the provider or

how you set things up, you may have to enter a two-factor authentication code that the organization sends to your smartphone for security purposes. You may have to acknowledge the specific

types of records you are willing to share with Apple Health. Check off the information types that apply or remove those that don’t. You may be given the option to choose how long you would

like Apple Health to have access to your information. WORTH NOTING: As part of its iOS 16 software update, Apple added a section to the Health app where you can track your medications, but

you must manually add them. You may receive suggestions based on any medications already stored inside Health Records as you compile the list. ON AN ANDROID PHONE USING THE COMMONHEALTH APP:

1. Open the COMMONHEALTH app and enter the passcode for your account or authenticate via the biometrics on your device. 2. Tap RECORDS at the bottom-right corner of the app. 3. Tap ADD

HEALTH RECORDS at the top of the screen. 4. Tap VACCINATION or TEST RECORD to add a SMART Health Card or HEALTH RECORD to add health records from a listed provider. If you choose the latter,

scroll the list to find a matching institution or enter the name of a hospital, network or provider in the search box at the top of the screen. Tap a match, if found. 5. Tap ADD HEALTH DATA

 and enter the login information for the institution. _This story, originally published September 14, 2022, has been updated to reflect the launch of Apple's latest operating system._