Posts Tagged ‘PHRs’
Problems at Dossia?
July 19, 2007
The Dossia Consortium is reportedly in crisis according a to report by Information Week. This major PHR initiative (PHR for Life) includes some major employers but the story Dossia has sued the company they contracted with to build the PHR to prevent from being sued and that the company failed to deliver (mid-July was meant to be the first online evidence of the PHR for some users). TMCNet reports on a history of disappointments.
Generally it is a disappointment that more could not be accomplished with that kind of corporate financial backing. But maybe it was a choice of the wrong contractor to build such a comprehensive solution in a PHR market which has yet to see much consolidation or adoption.
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PHRs on Cell Phones?
July 13, 2007
According to a piece in Health Data Management, Capmed has purchased a company with this technology. Here is the pitch from ICE First: “ICE First is a web- and mobile phone-based software application that allows you to quickly and easily store and manage emergency medical information and contact numbers right on your mobile phone.” You can actually download the software from their website based on your wireless provide. Only a $10 fee with $5 per year to maintain data on their website. You can get a sticker for your phone indicating it has emergency information.
Cell phones make sense because of their pervasiveness in the market – this could be more popular that thumb drive PHRs or other devices. The only downside it the potential for losing your phone or running low on battery.
Share this:PHR Patents
July 11, 2007
MarketIntellNow blog is covering PHRs all week. Specifically, they are citing patents for major PHRs, such as, Medem and CapMed. They have a helpful discussion of adoption of PHRs:
“Our PHR polling approach drills first into Awareness (it’s low), then examines those who are aware (likely your early adopters) as to Need (it’s high among the chronically sick, which has a tilt towards an older demographic), then queries regarding Willingness to Pay (or suffer ads) and finally drills into those who have need and a willingness to pay but indicate they won’t act– they thus have Objections we uncover that can be overcome at some cost, or not.”
I agree with these basic steps. They need to get wider coverage.
Share this:Setting the Bar Higher for PHRs
July 10, 2007
In a lengthy article in Health Data Management, Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s PHR, MyChart is set up as a leader in the field. Based on Epic System’s EHR, this personal health record goes beyond lab results and appointment information, it includes detailed information about the test results and custom links selected by physicians. They emphasized security and privacy from the beginning, gaining their patients’ confidence. It can’t hurt that the are located in the middle of Silicon Valley and many of their patients are early adopters in the tech industry or universities.
They have partnered with Healthwise for medical information which can be used as a prescription to education patients. 43% of their patients now use the PHR, probably the highest percent among provider-based PHRs. They are now creating an online disease management program which will further personalize online care.
Share this:Medicare Pilot Program To Test Personal Health Records
June 26, 2007
The participants in this pilot program are:
- HIP USA – New York’s largest HMO;
- Humana;
- Kaiser Permanente; and
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Each group will have unique PHR tools but all will own their health record and only share it with who they choose. The pilot program will last 18 months in order to determine what PHR features are helpful to Medicare beneficiaries. The story did not state whether the participants will be allowed to keep their PHRs after that time, however.
Share this:Interview with Dr. C. Martin Harris on PHRs
June 21, 2007
In an interview on HIMSS Weekly Insider, Dr. Harris of the Cleveland Clinic is interviewed about MyChart, the Clinic’s Personal Health record which is integrated with Epic System’s EMR. He discusses the value for patients including home monitoring for diabetes and notifying patients on specific medications when new research is available, such as, the FDA warning for the diabetes medication Avandia – over 700 patients were notified immediately using MyChart.
Three take-a-ways:
- “PHR tools are no longer ancillary; they are an integral part of the practice and delivery of high-quality medical services”
- “these tools empower patients to become active participants in their healthcare decisions”
- “these tools will fundamentally transform the way we currently think about the delivery of healthcare services”
Concerns about PHRs at the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise Connectathon
May 22, 2007
According to an article in Modern Healthcare, these concerns expressed at the IHE include “the accuracy, completeness, usefulness and volume of the records physicians receive from patients; the hours of uncompensated work it will take to slog through them; and the potential for a misdiagnosis if something important was overlooked.” The concern is data quality and organization coming from patients. Free text is difficult to interpret and analyze in a useful way. Electronic data from patients needs to fit into an organization within an EMR to be meaningful in a clinical setting.
Because of the early stage of PHR technology, this is rarely feasible. Going forward, the PHR products which will work for both physicians and patients need organizational tools which build on disease management.
Share this:Verizon Employees Get PHR
May 11, 2007
Offered through WebMD, Verizon employees (not customers) will be offered a PHR called Verizon HealthZone PHR. With 900,000 employees, it creates a large user pool. However, it will be initially offered to only 40,000, still a sizable pilot group. It will be interesting to watch home many actually adopt it since it is employer-based. “Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg announced the Electronic Personal Health Records tool during a roundtable discussion on the
shift toward a value-driven care system.”
“The Electronic Personal Health Records program is voluntary and works this way: After an employee enrolls, health care information is imported and managed from various sources — physicians, nurses, hospitals, pharmacies, labs, as well as information entered by the employee, including family history.” Additional, it works independent of the employee health plan. One has to wonder if it will be tied to consumer-directed healthcare and to what extent it will be wireless-enabled.
Share this:More on Medical Banking Project
May 10, 2007
In the Tennessean.com, more details are discussed about combining the banking industry to enable personal health records. The article notes that “Banks know security” but also “Some privacy advocates, however, are concerned that banks could share that information with affiliates and other third parties, creating a nightmare scenario.” Dr. Deborah Peel of Patient Privacy Rights is quoted along these lines, but also notes that her group supports a proposed bill which would allow medical banking but with two significant security features: the patient would decide who could see it and the information could not be sold without their permission.
If these controls are put in place and enforced, it could a viable solution.
Share this:Are PHRs Unprotected?
April 19, 2007
In Modern Health Care, Deborah Peel, founder of the Patient Privacy Rights Foundation, states that PHRs are “not protected by any laws and will be held in databases owned by corporations not subject to laws or medical ethics that guarantee privacy.” She opposes the concept of promoting PHRs as is done by the AHIMA and American Medical Informatics Association. Their joint statement states that consumers do have rights, although it should be noted that HIPAA only covers providers and payors. There is a lack of any overarching policy and consumers are not always aware of how their records might be secured or used unless they read site agreements carefully.
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