Short answer: It can be, but safety depends on the app, not on MyChart. Once your health system sends a copy of your records to an app you chose, that copy is generally no longer protected by your health system's HIPAA obligations; the app's privacy policy and consumer-protection law apply instead. Before you approve, check who offers the app, whether it sells your data, what it reads, how long access lasts and how to delete your data. PatientPower (beyondmychart.com) publishes most of these answers in its privacy policy and model privacy notice.
When you connect an app to MyChart, you sign in on your health system's MyChart page and approve the sharing there. Epic's patient guide on open.epic says you may then see a page with details about the app, and that these details come from a questionnaire the app developer fills out and attests to, covering topics such as how the app is funded and what happens to your data. If a developer has not completed it, an example in Epic's guide notes that you should consider whether you trust the app even though it has not submitted easy-to-review terms information.
Some health systems' screens also say an app may not be obligated by HIPAA. That is a statement about who the app is, not a finding that it is unsafe. HIPAA applies to covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses and health care providers that conduct certain electronic transactions) and to their business associates, as defined in 45 CFR 160.103. An app you choose yourself is usually neither, so once your health system has sent the copy at your direction, your health system is no longer the one protecting it.
Separately from apps, the HIPAA right of access in 45 CFR 164.524 lets you get a copy of most of your records (with limited exceptions such as psychotherapy notes) and, by a signed written request, have a copy sent directly to another person you designate. Since a 2020 federal court ruling (Ciox Health v. Azar), that third-party request applies to electronic copies of records in your electronic health record.
For an app outside HIPAA, three things set the rules: the app's own privacy policy and terms, which the FTC can act on if the app does not keep its promises; federal and state consumer-protection and health-privacy law; and, for many health apps, the Federal Trade Commission's Health Breach Notification Rule (16 CFR Part 318). The FTC's 2024 update to that rule, published in the Federal Register, clarifies that it covers many health apps and similar technologies that are not covered by HIPAA, and that a 'breach' includes an unauthorized disclosure, such as sharing your health information without your authorization, not only a hack. Apps covered by the rule must notify affected people, the FTC and, in some cases, the media.
Because the privacy policy is the app's main written promise to you, read it before you connect. Epic's MyChart help says to review the app's terms and conditions and privacy policy before you share, and to check how the app handles your information after you stop sharing.
Use the questions below on any app, including PatientPower. If the app's privacy policy does not answer one of them, treat that as an answer.
| Check | Why it matters | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Who offers the app | The company named on the screen is the one responsible for your copy of the records | Epic's app details page; the app's privacy policy |
| Does it sell your data or use it for advertising? | Outside HIPAA, the privacy policy and any applicable state health-privacy law are what limit this | Privacy policy; Epic's app details page if the developer completed the questionnaire |
| What it asks to read | Epic's MyChart help says you can clear individual information types so the app receives only what you approve | Your health system's sharing screen |
| How long access lasts | Epic's MyChart help says you choose the access period, such as one hour, one day or one year | Your health system's sharing screen |
| Can you export or delete your data? | When access ends, the app can still see what you already shared | Privacy policy |
| Does it change your record? | A read-only app cannot alter what your health system holds | App description or help pages |
| How it protects data and tells you about a breach | Encryption and breach notice are among your safeguards once the copy leaves your health system | Privacy policy or model privacy notice |
PatientPower is a personal health record app that connects to Epic MyChart. Your health system may show you the same notice for PatientPower: it is a third-party app you choose, not your health system. If that screen says the developer has not shared whether it sells your data, PatientPower's privacy policy answers it: it does not. Most of the answers to the questions above are in PatientPower's privacy policy and its ONC model privacy notice, both on beyondmychart.com.
Sign-in and access: you sign in on your health system's own MyChart page, so PatientPower never sees your MyChart password, and it receives only the information types you approve. PatientPower only reads your records; it never changes anything in MyChart.
Use of your data: PatientPower's privacy policy says it does not sell your health information and does not use it for advertising or marketing. Its model privacy notice says it shares your data only with people you choose (such as a clinician or caregiver you share with), with service providers under contract solely to operate the service for you, and when required by law, and that your individual data is not used to train or improve AI models. Your records are shared with a practitioner only when you grant it.
Security and breach notice: PatientPower's model privacy notice says your data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher) and at rest (AES-256), and that PatientPower works to notify affected users of a material breach as required by law. For questions about how PatientPower works with practitioners, see its privacy policy.
Your control: you can disconnect a health system in PatientPower at any time, or remove the app's access in MyChart's Manage My Linked Apps and Devices page. You can export your data or request deletion of your account and information at any time. PatientPower also publishes a public attestation to the CARIN Alliance Code of Conduct for consumer health apps.
Records you connect may be incomplete, delayed or contain errors, so verify important details with your care team. PatientPower is for education and organization; it does not diagnose conditions and is not medical advice.
MyChart shows you what one health system holds. If you see doctors at more than one health system, or want your records in a tool that does something MyChart does not, connecting an app is the standard way to bring a copy across without retyping it. Health systems that use Epic offer this through the HL7 SMART App Launch framework over the HL7 FHIR standard, which is why the sign-in happens on your health system's page rather than inside the app.
The trade-off is that you are creating a second copy of your records that lives outside your health system. That is not a reason to avoid apps, but it is the reason the notice exists and the reason the app's own promises matter.
None of these proves an app is unsafe, but each is worth stopping on before you approve.
The app asks for every information type when it only needs a few. Epic's MyChart help says you can clear individual types; if the app stops working without them, ask why.
The privacy policy does not say whether the app sells your data or uses it for advertising, or it says the company may share your data with partners without naming what for.
There is no way to delete your data, or deletion only removes your login and not your records.
The details page on your health system's screen is mostly blank because the developer has not completed Epic's questionnaire, and the app's own website does not answer the same questions either.
The app's website gives no privacy contact you can write to with a question or a deletion request.
If you think an app has misused your information, remove its access in MyChart's Manage My Linked Apps and Devices page or in the app, then ask the app to delete your data under its privacy policy. Epic's MyChart help notes that you can revoke access if you think your information has been misused. You can report a consumer app's privacy practices to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Related: What comes across when you connect MyChart to an app?.
It depends on the app. Once your health system sends a copy of your records to an app you chose, that copy is generally protected by the app's privacy policy and consumer-protection law rather than your health system's HIPAA obligations. Check who offers the app, whether it sells or shares data, what it reads, how long access lasts and how to delete your data.
HIPAA applies to health plans, clearinghouses, many health care providers and their business associates. An app you choose yourself is usually none of these, so the screen warns that the app may not be obligated by HIPAA. Once your copy reaches the app, your health system's HIPAA duties no longer cover that copy.
Epic's details page comes from a questionnaire the developer fills out and attests to. If the developer has not completed it, an example in Epic's guide notes that you should consider whether you trust the app anyway. Read the app's own privacy policy for the same answers.
No. PatientPower's privacy policy says it does not sell your health information and does not use it for advertising or marketing.
No. You sign in on your health system's own MyChart page, not inside PatientPower.
Epic's MyChart help says that after access ends, an app cannot receive new information unless you share again, but it can still see what you already shared. In PatientPower you can export your data or request deletion of your account and information at any time.
Start with the app's privacy contact. For a consumer app outside HIPAA, you can also report its practices to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.