FAQs
What is HealthScout?
HealthScout is an AI-powered iOS app that helps you understand your health data and navigate the healthcare system. Think of it as having a knowledgeable, patient health assistant in your pocket that knows your complete medical history and can translate complex medical information into plain English.
Is HealthScout a doctor or medical service?
No. HealthScout is an educational tool, not a doctor. We provide information and insights to help you better understand your health and prepare for conversations with your healthcare providers. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment decisions.
How does HealthScout know about my health?
HealthScout connects to Apple Health with your permission to access your health records from hospitals, labs, and healthcare providers. This gives our AI the context of your complete health history to provide personalized insights and answer your questions. Anything not available through Apple Health can be added manually so you have all your health information in one place.
What makes HealthScout different from "Dr. Google" or ChatGPT?
Unlike generic web searches or generic AI chatbots, HealthScout knows your specific health history and provides personalized information based on your actual medical records. Our AI is trained specifically for healthcare education and focuses on evidence-based information rather than the most popular search results.
Does HealthScout replace my doctor?
Absolutely not. HealthScout is designed to empower you with information so you can have better conversations with your healthcare providers. We help you understand your medical records, prepare questions for your doctor, and explore treatment options to discuss with your medical team.
Signing Up to HealthScout
Do I need an iPhone to use HealthScout?
Yes, HealthScout currently requires an iPhone running iOS 17.6 or later. The app relies on Apple Health, which is only available on iOS devices.
Is HealthScout free?
HealthScout offers a free seven day trial so you can really test if it's right for you. After 7 days, you'll need to pick a monthly or yearly subscription. Even without the subscription, you can always review your Chat History and manage your Manual Health Entries.
How long does setup take?
The initial setup varies depending on how many healthcare providers you need to connect. The HealthScout app setup takes about 2-3 minutes, but connecting your health records through Apple Health can take 10-30 minutes depending on your providers. Don't worry - we'll guide you through every step. To make it really quick, have your user names and passwords to your healthcare provider portals like MyChart, Epic, or Kaiser before starting.
Can I use HealthScout for my family members?
HealthScout accounts are designed for individual use. However, parents or legal guardians can use the app to manage their children's health information on a separate iPhone or iPad.
Getting Your Health Records Into HealthScout
How do I connect my health records?
HealthScout connects to your health records through Apple's Health app. During setup, we'll guide you through connecting your healthcare providers (hospitals, clinics, labs) to Apple Health, then giving HealthScout permission to access that information.
Which healthcare providers work with HealthScout?
HealthScout works with thousands of healthcare systems that support Apple's Health Records feature, including major systems like Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, LabCorp, One Medical and many others. In addition, individual doctors and practices also can support Apple Health Records. If your provider isn't supported, you can still manually add your health information.
What if my doctor doesn't use electronic health records?
You can manually add health information to HealthScout by uploading photos or PDFs of documents, lab results, or medical reports. Our AI can read and understand these documents to include them in your health profile.
Is my health data secure?
Because we deal with your healthcare information, your privacy is incredibly important to us — it has to be. To safeguard your health information we use end-to-end encrypted chats and Face ID/Touch ID to protect your health records. Neither HealthScout nor our partners can see see your health data.
Can I correct wrong information in my health records?
Yes! If HealthScout’s answers start referring to incorrect or outdated information from your healthcare providers, you can add corrections through the Manual Health Entries feature. These corrections take priority over the original records when providing answers.
What happens if I switch healthcare providers?
When you switch providers, simply add your new healthcare system to Apple Health through the HealthScout app. Your historical health information from previous providers will remain accessible, giving you a complete picture across all your healthcare relationships.
My health records are on my computer. How do I get them into HealthScout?
To move Health Records in PDF, DOC, JPEG, PNG, or text form from your computer to your iPhone. The key steps are:
1. Airdrop (Mac only), Text Message, or Email all the documents from your Computer to your iPhone
2. Save each file to iOS’s "Files" app (be sure to note the folder, it can be confusing)
3. In HealthScout, go to Options, Manual Health Entries, Add Attachment. Pick “Files” and just make sure you’re in the right folder where you saved your health records. Select the file you want to include — you have to do one file at a time right now.
Quick and Dirty Method
Alternatively, you can simply take a picture of your computer screen with lab reports and add that into Manual Health Entries.
Using HealthScout
What kinds of questions can I ask HealthScout?
You can ask about anything in your health records — lab results, medications, diagnoses, symptoms, treatment options, or general health questions. For example: "What are the side effects of my medications?" or “Do you see any trends that show a relationship between my medications and my lab results?” or "What are options for my new diagnosis?"
How accurate are HealthScout's answers?
HealthScout uses advanced AI tuned to answer medical questions from patients like you. While we strive for accuracy, HealthScout is an educational tool, not a medical professional. While we're constantly improving HealthScout, it will make mistakes. Always verify any health decisions with your healthcare provider.
Can HealthScout help me understand my lab results?
Yes! This is one of HealthScout's key features. We translate medical jargon and lab values into plain English, explain what your results mean, and help you understand trends over time.
Can I share HealthScout's answers with my doctor?
Absolutely! HealthScout's insights can help you prepare better questions and have more informed conversations with your healthcare providers. You can copy and paste or screenshot conversations to share during appointments.
What if HealthScout doesn't understand my question?
HealthScout is designed to handle a wide range of health-related questions. If something isn't clear, try rephrasing your question or providing more context. You can also add additional health information manually to give HealthScout more context.
How do I delete my conversation history?
You can delete individual conversations or your entire chat history at any time through the app's Options menu under Privacy settings. This gives you complete control over your stored conversations.
Can I use HealthScout offline?
HealthScout requires an internet connection to process your questions through our AI system. However, your health data is stored locally on your device even when offline.
Privacy and Security
Is my health data secure?
Your health data is protected by multiple layers of security: end-to-end encrypted conversations, Face ID/Touch ID protection for your health records, and industry-standard encryption for all data transmission. We follow Apple's strict security frameworks and never store your raw health data on our servers.
Who can see my health data?
No one. HealthScout employees cannot see your health data, and neither can our AI partners or Apple. The only way we could access any of your information is if you explicitly use the "Send Logs to HealthScout" feature for troubleshooting purposes.
Where is my health data stored?
Your Apple Health data stays encrypted on your device and is never stored in the cloud. When you ask questions, the necessary data is processed securely through our AI partners, then immediately deleted. Your chat conversations can optionally be stored in your personal Apple CloudKit account if you choose.
Can I share HealthScout's answers with my doctor?
Absolutely! HealthScout's insights can help you prepare better questions and have more informed conversations with your healthcare providers. You can copy and paste or screenshot conversations to share during appointments.
Do you share my health data with advertisers or third parties?
Never. We don't share, sell, or use your health data for advertising or marketing. We can't sell what we don't have. Our business model is subscription-based, not data-based.
Can I delete my data?
Yes, completely. You can delete your chat history anytime through the app's Options menu. You can revoke HealthScout's access to your Apple Health data through iOS Settings as well as chats and manual health entries in iCloud. Once you do the above and delete the app, your data is gone.
What happens if I lose my phone or get a new one?
Your Apple Health data transfers with your device backup. If you've enabled CloudKit sync, your conversations and manual health entries will restore when you reinstall HealthScout. If not, your chat history and manual health entries stay only on your original device. Your health data remains secure either way.
How do you handle children's health data?
HealthScout is designed for users 18+, but parents or legal guardians can use it to manage their children's health information. All the same privacy protections apply to children's data. Parents control all access through iOS Settings.
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