NSFW: Apple, iOS 8 Health, And The Gordian Knot Of Healthcare Bureaucracy

This year I've spent a lot of time in doctor's offices and I see what a giant mess the electronic health records (EHR) industry really is. And I don't think Apple's going to solve the problems facing the American healthcare industry. Apple's telling us that iOS 8's Health feature will give us a way of sharing important diagnostic information with our doctors. But it's predicated on a huge assumption: That our medical providers are affiliated with an institution that's willing to buy in to this particular data stream.
Because of my own health issues and those in my family, I deal with a lot of medical specialists. All of them use electronic health records (EHR) systems, because they're required to (especially if they expect reimbursement through Medicare and other social insurance programs). But getting these different medical providers to talk to each other is a byzantine process at best, thanks in part to a complete lack of interoperability between different EHR systems, federal and state restrictions, and pure administrative incompetence.

Case in point: My primary doctor wanted copies of lab tests that had been ordered by a specialist I'm seeing. Both of them required release forms signed by me in order to send and receive the paperwork. Even then, it would take days for it to happen...