The latest PHR (personal health record) has become available to people covered under UnitedHealthcare insurance policies. United Healthcare announced this month that it has developed the “Blue Button” tool so that people can download their personal information. With the click of a button on the website, one can access the tool. This will be open [...]
According to a study recently published in the Annals of Family Medicine, patients who utilize interactive PHR (personal health record) applications are much more apt to seek preventive care than those without implementing the PHR options. A 16-month clinical study at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program involving 4,500 patients at eight primary care [...]
Over the last 2 weeks, CMS (centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) issued the requirements for Stage 2 meaningful Ue and certification of electronic health records. The discussion about exchange of health information among systems and health facilities, laboratories and pharmacies is stressed, but not new. What is new and exciting is the realization and [...]
Google retires its Health program as of Jan.1,2012. This is sad, not just because we are losing a helpful program, but because of what it represents. Google misread the impetus for the American people to put their health records in a secure database system. Eventually this will happen. Why it has not happened yet maybe [...]
It has been proposed that 3rd party systems who had been exempt from HIPAA, like billing companies, customer service contractors and others who received patient information, should be held accountable at the same degree as hospitals and healthcare providers. Violation of privacy rules would subject them to fines. This is not just a slap on [...]
