His (App) Name is Kaiser Permanente

The $2 trillion healthcare industry is ripe for entrepreneurial disruption.

Image: lenetstan / Shutterstock

On Tuesday legacy healthcare company Kaiser Permanente announced the launch of an application that gives patients and caregivers 24/7 access to electronic medical records at the touch of a smartphone button, and for an industry slow to react to technological developments, the 9 million patient company’s decision could open the door for other companies looking to mobilize, or get into the app development business.

“The smartphone application market for mobile healthcare increased seven-fold to reach $718 million in 2011, but is set to rise much more,” reported Kevin Grogan of the Pharma Times.

But for a $2 trillion industry, that leaves plenty room for disruption.

The Pharma Times reports:

“The main drivers for this growth have been, "the increase in the smartphone user base on the demand side", and the doubling of the number of mHealth applications on the supply side."

Patients of the Kaiser Permanente, founded in 1945, already had access much of their medical information through a mobile-optimized website. But with the free Android-based app patients and those who take care of patients now have 24/7 access to their electronic medical records (EMR’s), including lab results, diagnostic information, direct and secure email access to doctors, and the ability to schedule appointments and order prescription refills.

The company’s data on how people are accessing its site is very telling, too, as it validates the notion that mobile technology has become an essential part of healthcare, as Kaiser told us that 14 percent of visits to its website now derive from mobile devices, a 46 percent growth since January 2011.

For a company with 68 million lab test results in 2011 alone, this is no minor feat, and that the company has successful done so bodes well for other healthcare organizations considering developing an app for such purposes.

An iPhone app is expected to be released in the coming months.