Kaiser Permanent today launched a mobile app giving more than 9 million patients access to their online medical records. The healthcare giant created a mobile-optimized version of its member website, kp.org, with a companion Android app. The company promises an iPhone app later this year.

Kaiser officials say members will be able to view information from past visits, access lab results and pharmacy orders and see other data from their records. They also will be able to check appointments and exchange texts with clinicians via smartphone.

It's remarkably quick work, considering that just last August, Kaiser IT reps admitted they had virtually no mobile strategy crafted, and no apps under development other than the KP Locator mapping app released at the end of the summer.

But they seem to have had a little push from users. In a 2011 study of Kaiser members, smartphone users said the ability to access kp.org's My Health Manager functions from their phones was what they wanted most. And even without the optimization for mobile devices, visits to the kp.org website from smartphones skyrocketed 46 percent during 2011, to make up 14 percent of total visits to the site.

To learn more:
- read the announcement

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