The iPhone is a remarkable device, even if all it did was put the things you do every day into the palm of your hand.

But over time, Apple and the iPhone have slowly changed the nature of healthcare. At a foundational level, there’s HealthKit, Apple’s API that makes it possible for developers to build significant health-related capabilities into their own apps.

But more than this, there are peripherals that bring more self-monitoring into the user’s hands and simplify the process of sharing diagnostic data with a health care professional, all over the internet without requiring an office visit.

The latest of these is the AliveCor Mobile ECG, reviewed in this post by Jeremy Horwitz, writing for 9to5mac.

Some health accessories are undeniably useful, but others raise the question “why?” — why pay more to see my weight on an iPhone rather than the scale’s built-in screen? Why track daily tooth brushing, body fat percentages, or the humidity of one’s bathroom? People survived for thousands of years without charting every seemingly minor blip on their personal radars.

My perspective changed last month when my wife was diagnosed with a serious cardiac condition. One of those “seemingly minor blips” that can now be constantly monitored is your heartbeat, and when something’s wrong with your heart, advance knowledge literally makes the difference between living or dying. As it turns out, a San Francisco-based company named AliveCor is now on its third-generation version of an iPhone accessory that helps people with cardiac conditions. The AliveCor Mobile ECG ($75) is an FDA-approved electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor that can record and share your heartbeat directly from your iPhone. Measuring roughly 3.2″ by 1.3″ by 0.2″, Mobile EGC can self-attach to your iPhone’s back, or integrate with a bundled custom iPhone 6/6s case for only $79.

This is a remarkable achievement, one that would have been unthinkable not so long ago. This sort of inexpensive ($75) device is a game changer for the field of cardiology and patients with cardiac issues. Not only does this device save you a trip to the cardiologist, it makes it possible to have more frequent and more timely assessments of your condition, it makes the entire analysis less invasive and more convenient, and reduces the cost to all parties involved.

I suspect that a day will come when health care is embedded in software and devices like these, when the entire process is made more affordable and less restrictive, less controlled by insurance companies and their actuarial tables and available to all of us, regardless of our income streams.