9 Popular Personal Health Record Tools
While many consumers remain skeptical of personal health records, advocates say these tools can help patients manage medical data and interact with doctors. Here's a look at nine popular PHR offerings.
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When 62-year old Mike Cooper, a former CEO, suffered a stroke, he turned to an online personal health record (PHR) tool to communicate with his doctors, schedule appointments, view lab and test results, and renew prescriptions from the comfort of his own home. "I have good information on which to base my decisions. The login procedure has a sign-in name and a password, and that really makes me makes me feel safe," said Cooper, a patient of Sutter Health-affiliated Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) in Mountain View, CA.
For Nancy Andre, a busy mother of three young children, PAMF's My Health Online PHR helps take the stress out of managing her children's healthcare requirements. An online questionnaire, for example, is easier to respond to from home than a paper-based questionnaire in the doctor's waiting room.
Albert Chan, MD, chief medical information officer at Palo Alto Medical Foundation Medical Group, based in Mountain View, CA, told InformationWeek Healthcare that 72% of PAMF's adult patients use the My Health Online PHR service. Co-developed with Epic Systems Corporation, MyHealth Online is a customized version of Epic's MyChart PHR application. Chan said that in addition to accessing data from a home computer, information is now available to patients via the iPhone or Android platforms. "This service to me is a way to really personalize the care experience for the patient," Chan said. Cooper and Andre are among a growing number of consumers who are turning to PHRs as a way to keep track of their medical data, communicate with doctors, check for drug interactions, and schedule appointments.
Currently consumers have several options when it comes to choosing a PHR. Microsoft's HealthVault is an example of a free PHR that is managed exclusively by the patient.
Payer- or insurance-based PHRs let patients see claims data that are already in their database. There are two variants of this model: some are hosted by the payer--most of the major health insurance companies have some kind of PHR that they include as part of their service--and some are provided by the employer.
The third class of PHRs are portals that are tied or tethered to a specific setting of care--for example, an electronic health record (EHR) add-on to a physician's office.
Lastly, the enterprise, or health system, PHR is one in which the patient, regardless of where they are seen in the system, has access to his records anywhere in the integrated delivery network.
Not everyone is sold on the merits of PHRs. Security and privacy issues stop some patients from jumping on the PHR bandwagon. Although vendors point out that federal and state laws are in place to protect patient privacy, many consumers are also concerned about what happens to their health care information. For instance, it's not uncommon for insurance companies to sell patient information to pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Michael Salesin, MD, an OB/GYN with Walnut Lake OB/GYN in West Bloomfield, MI, said that while PHRs have advantages for patients--including speed, privacy, accuracy, and reliability--they also have negatives, such as the need for an Internet connection and sometimes a lack of patient interest and motivation to use the system.
Nevertheless, some industry insiders assert that the use of PHRs is on the rise. Julie Dooling, director of professional practice resources at the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), says that there is a push underway to provide patients with the ability to view online as well as download and transmit their health information. "PHRs are becoming a very familiar component to the patient portal and to the electronic health record in a lot of organizations," Dooling said.
Healthcare reform is another driver of PHRs, according to Mary Griskewicz, senior director, healthcare information systems at the Health Care Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Griskewicz told InformationWeek Healthcare that more responsibility is being placed upon the patient and the primary care physician to make sure that patients are adhering to the appropriate protocols and schedules for their wellness care. With more and more patients using mobile devices, access to PHRs online is becoming more popular, Grisewicz said.
But which patients are actually using PHRs? Arien Malec, vice president of data platform solutions for RelayHealth, a subsidiary of McKesson Corp., told InformationWeek Healthcare that the uses of and demand for a provider-connected PHR extend to anyone who interacts with his or her provider. "The value of a PHR, however, rises the more interactions the patient has with the health system. For instance, we see a lot of enthusiasm and use by parents, as well as patients with chronic diseases," Malec said.
While many consumers remain skeptical, it appears that adoption of PHRs is on the rise, particularly for patients who want to assume more responsibility and control of their healthcare. Here's a look at products by nine popular PHR vendors.
Microsoft HealthVault is proud of its status as an untethered PHR. Patient advantages include the ability to store and manage personal health care data and take it with you even if you move, change doctors, or have multiple doctors at different hospitals. Almost 300 applications are linked to the HealthVault platform, including apps that manage allergies, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. In addition, HealthVault connects end users with more than 70 devices, such as blood pressure and blood glucose monitors, weight scales, pedometers, and peak flow meters, enabling consumers to track and share their health information as they wish.
Dossia is an employer-led organization with backing from a number of companies, including AT&T, BP America, Inc., Cardinal Health, Intel, Pitney Bowes, Sanofani-Aventis, Vanguard Health Systems, and Wal-Mart. Dossia provides an untethered PHR that draws from multiple data sources and allows the patient to keep the PHR even upon changing to a new health plan, doctor, or employer. The Dossia Personal Health Record can be used as a flexible platform from which to launch a myriad of employee health benefits programs. Dossia is independent of any funding from online advertising or Internet searches, and it keeps data completely private.
The Dossia Health Management System integrates aggregated personal health information with best-in-class healthcare tools, and it uses multiple user engagement components to offer a rich and personalized experience, according to the vendor. (Those user engagement components include a gamified points system that lets employers provide incentives to employees, plus offer social networking features and team challenges.)
The Patient Portal, from Cerner Corp., helps provider organizations improve communication and enhance patient care. This system includes several patient-access services designed to improve communication with patients and ease administrative processes. Using Patient Portal, providers can send appointment reminders, provide new patient registration forms, share lab results and EMR data, conduct e-visits, and send attachments such as documents or images.
Patients can also use the Patient Portal to fill prescriptions; update demographic information; request, reschedule, or cancel appointments or directly book appointments within Cerner Millennium Appointment Book; and view their medical fees online and quickly make a payment. They can also view their clinical information from their Cerner Millennium EMR and educational material.
MyChart, from Epic Systems, gives patients controlled access to the same Epic medical records their doctors use, and it provides convenient self-service functions that Epic executives say reduce costs and increase satisfaction. Because MyChart is integrated with the EMR, it's easy for patients to get involved in their own healthcare. These self-serve online functions allow patients to take an active role in their care and reduce the costs of providing service, Epic says. Patients also have the ability to view test results, view problem-based educational materials, schedule appointments, request refills, pay bills securely, view a child's records and print growth charts, as well as manage the care of elderly parents.
Unlike MyChart, Epic's freestanding PHR Lucy is not connected to any facility's electronic medical record system. Lucy puts interoperability under the control of patients. Records stored in Lucy are not tethered to any facility's electronic medical record system. Instead, they stay with patients--accessible from a thumb drive or online via browser--wherever they receive care. Patients can enter health data directly into Lucy, pull in data from multiple MyChart accounts, or upload standards-compliant Continuity of Care Documents from non-Epic facilities. Epic's Care Everywhere software can also retrieve documents from Lucy, making this information available for review as part of the electronic chart. Also, Lucy is free of two significant obstacles to patient PHR adoption. It includes no advertisements, and Epic will not sell patient data stored on it for secondary uses.
GE Healthcare markets Centricity Patient Online as a flexible, scalable, and highly configurable patient portal designed for large healthcare organizations. By extending the doctor's workflow to the patient's home with a range of easy-to-use self-service tools, Patient Online enhances patient communications and improves doctor and medical staff productivity. With Patient Online 13, the latest release, patients can connect with their healthcare providers through the Web or their mobile devices to schedule appointments, pay bills, manage health information, complete pre-visit forms, send secure messages, begin an e-visit, and respond to alerts and reminders sent by the practice.
MedSeek's PHR offers patients a one-stop-shop. It pulls in data from back-end clinical systems while also allowing patients to enter data. MedSeek executives refer to this as a collaborative environment in which patients can engage in their own care. On the provider end, it helps organizations achieve Meaningful Use, while at the same time creating a lasting health-related loyalty with patients and their families, MedSeek says The product lets users consolidate inpatient, outpatient, and patient-provided health information into a single repository, making the organization the center of the patient's health management process.
This PHR lets patients obtain and manage their personal health records, request medications and refills/renewals, send notes to physicians and/or office staff, and request appointments or lab and test result consultations with physicians online via its webVisit feature. Another popular feature of RelayHealth's PHR is its patient satisfaction surveys. RelayHealth says its consumer feedback indicates that patients appreciate the time savings that they experience. Because patients have 24/7 customer service support, they feel more connected to their physicians and staff members, the vendor says. In addition, questions and concerns can be addressed more quickly, and follow-up for chronic conditions is more efficient, the vendor says.
The eClinicalWorks Portal allows patients to communicate with their doctors and access important information over the Internet. A physicians' practice can, for example, send patients reminders, statements, patient education materials, and lab results electronically. Among the features the portal offers patients are the ability to enter medical history online, send messages to doctors' offices, complete new patient registrations, conduct Web consults, refill prescriptions, check lab results, schedule appointments, view account statements, and obtain patient educational materials.
With eClinicalWorks Patient Portal, providers can securely communicate with patients, view patient history, post lab and imaging results to the portal, obtain referral requests, and send educational materials directly to the patient.
The Allscripts Patient Portal, from Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, is powered by Intuit Health. In partnership with Allscripts, Intuit Health provides an online CCR/CCD-compliant tool that allows patients to easily view, update, correct, and share their health data. The tool's sharing capabilities make it useful for patients with chronic conditions, and it addresses Meaningful Use qualifications. Like many of the other products mentioned, this portal gives patients access to personal health information, helping patients view, update, manage, and share their information. As a result, it also reduces phone calls and paperwork requests, Allscripts says.
The Allscripts Patient Portal, from Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, is powered by Intuit Health. In partnership with Allscripts, Intuit Health provides an online CCR/CCD-compliant tool that allows patients to easily view, update, correct, and share their health data. The tool's sharing capabilities make it useful for patients with chronic conditions, and it addresses Meaningful Use qualifications. Like many of the other products mentioned, this portal gives patients access to personal health information, helping patients view, update, manage, and share their information. As a result, it also reduces phone calls and paperwork requests, Allscripts says.
When 62-year old Mike Cooper, a former CEO, suffered a stroke, he turned to an online personal health record (PHR) tool to communicate with his doctors, schedule appointments, view lab and test results, and renew prescriptions from the comfort of his own home. "I have good information on which to base my decisions. The login procedure has a sign-in name and a password, and that really makes me makes me feel safe," said Cooper, a patient of Sutter Health-affiliated Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) in Mountain View, CA.
For Nancy Andre, a busy mother of three young children, PAMF's My Health Online PHR helps take the stress out of managing her children's healthcare requirements. An online questionnaire, for example, is easier to respond to from home than a paper-based questionnaire in the doctor's waiting room.
Albert Chan, MD, chief medical information officer at Palo Alto Medical Foundation Medical Group, based in Mountain View, CA, told InformationWeek Healthcare that 72% of PAMF's adult patients use the My Health Online PHR service. Co-developed with Epic Systems Corporation, MyHealth Online is a customized version of Epic's MyChart PHR application. Chan said that in addition to accessing data from a home computer, information is now available to patients via the iPhone or Android platforms. "This service to me is a way to really personalize the care experience for the patient," Chan said. Cooper and Andre are among a growing number of consumers who are turning to PHRs as a way to keep track of their medical data, communicate with doctors, check for drug interactions, and schedule appointments.
Currently consumers have several options when it comes to choosing a PHR. Microsoft's HealthVault is an example of a free PHR that is managed exclusively by the patient.
Payer- or insurance-based PHRs let patients see claims data that are already in their database. There are two variants of this model: some are hosted by the payer--most of the major health insurance companies have some kind of PHR that they include as part of their service--and some are provided by the employer.
The third class of PHRs are portals that are tied or tethered to a specific setting of care--for example, an electronic health record (EHR) add-on to a physician's office.
Lastly, the enterprise, or health system, PHR is one in which the patient, regardless of where they are seen in the system, has access to his records anywhere in the integrated delivery network.
Not everyone is sold on the merits of PHRs. Security and privacy issues stop some patients from jumping on the PHR bandwagon. Although vendors point out that federal and state laws are in place to protect patient privacy, many consumers are also concerned about what happens to their health care information. For instance, it's not uncommon for insurance companies to sell patient information to pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Michael Salesin, MD, an OB/GYN with Walnut Lake OB/GYN in West Bloomfield, MI, said that while PHRs have advantages for patients--including speed, privacy, accuracy, and reliability--they also have negatives, such as the need for an Internet connection and sometimes a lack of patient interest and motivation to use the system.
Nevertheless, some industry insiders assert that the use of PHRs is on the rise. Julie Dooling, director of professional practice resources at the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), says that there is a push underway to provide patients with the ability to view online as well as download and transmit their health information. "PHRs are becoming a very familiar component to the patient portal and to the electronic health record in a lot of organizations," Dooling said.
Healthcare reform is another driver of PHRs, according to Mary Griskewicz, senior director, healthcare information systems at the Health Care Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Griskewicz told InformationWeek Healthcare that more responsibility is being placed upon the patient and the primary care physician to make sure that patients are adhering to the appropriate protocols and schedules for their wellness care. With more and more patients using mobile devices, access to PHRs online is becoming more popular, Grisewicz said.
But which patients are actually using PHRs? Arien Malec, vice president of data platform solutions for RelayHealth, a subsidiary of McKesson Corp., told InformationWeek Healthcare that the uses of and demand for a provider-connected PHR extend to anyone who interacts with his or her provider. "The value of a PHR, however, rises the more interactions the patient has with the health system. For instance, we see a lot of enthusiasm and use by parents, as well as patients with chronic diseases," Malec said.
While many consumers remain skeptical, it appears that adoption of PHRs is on the rise, particularly for patients who want to assume more responsibility and control of their healthcare. Here's a look at products by nine popular PHR vendors.
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