Personal Health Records

HL7, AHIP, & BCBSA sign memorandum of understanding regarding transferability of health information.

Link to story:

http://www.bcbs.com/news/bcbsa/
hl7_ahip_bcbsa_collaborate_on_phrs.html

Link:

http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RS22760

Here’s a blog post about Kaiser Permanente’s personal health record HealthConnect. The news looks positive. There’s a link to a demonstration in the comments which might be interesting to watch.

One concern I have about institutional personal health record systems is if they are widening the gap between the have’s and have not’s when it comes to access to health care and health care resources in the United States. What is available for those individuals who aren’t lucky enough to work for a company that subscribes to a system that offers such comprehensive services as Kaiser Permanente? Sure they can use one of the free systems that are available, but how many of those have the ability to pull in information from providers, insurance, or pharmacies? It seems like yet another system is being created where those who have to work the most hours to make a living also have to work the hardest to keep track of their own information. What about the little guy?

Link to blog:

http://www.pchit.org/2007/11/29/154/

If I understand the article correctly this company will allow consumers to order their own lab tests. I might look into this a little more, but here’s a link to the story. The company also has a personal health record system.

Link:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb571927.htm

Link to PHR:

http://www.mymedlab.com/

From the article:

“The new interface was being developed under the umbrella of the intiative EPA NRW in the German federal state of North-Rhine Westfalia. Companies involved include, among others, Agfa Healthcare, Careon, CompuGroup, DocExpert, fliegel, IBM, ICW, Microsoft, Siemens and T-Systems.”

This may be a step forward in allowing data exchange with personal health record systems.

Link:

http://ehealtheurope.net/news/3233/
industry_agrees_standardised_interface_for_eprs

Here’s an interesting blog post regarding a new company that will allow you to explore you genes online. The author discusses his concerns regarding privacy. He also mentions Microsoft HealthVault and his similar concerns regarding electronic personal health records.

Link:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=7078

“Germany’s largest health insurer, Barmer, is investigating the benefits and acceptance of personal health records in a three-year research study. The health insurance company’s seven million members will be able to set up and access their record for a small annual fee via the company’s website from mid December.”

Link:

http://www.bjhcim.co.uk/news/2007/n711016.htm

Another release about the same story:

http://www.healthtechwire.com/Pressrelease.146+M5886023de52.0.html

Prior story about the technology partner for the study:

http://www.healthtechwire.com/Pressrelease.146+M5240953eb58.0.html

Here’s a press release which announces Records for Living, Inc.’s support for XML as a data exchange format in their personal health record HealthFrame.

Link to story:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/11/prweb568950.htm

Here’s a news release that claims Aetna’s personal health record for federal employees will start reviewing their records and sending alerts if there is new information regarding medications or diagnoses they should be aware of.

Link to story:

http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3181836

There is an interesting article in the November, 2007,  issue of Harvard Business Review titled, “Are Your Engineers Talking to One Another When They Should?” The authors describe a process to analyze the communications between groups involved in designing complex machinery. They argue the design structure matrix should be used to set up communication patterns when a complex design project is undertaken. They use designing a jet engine as an example to illustrate the process used to set up and monitor communication between teams responsible for different components that will eventually interact with each other. The first step is to make an aligning matrix composed of the intersections between designing teams and receiving teams. Some of the components will have no interaction and are unclassified. Areas of interaction are then classified as Matched, Unattended, and Unidentified based on interviews from the design teams and the development teams. As the project proceeds expected patterns of communication can be monitored. Unexpected areas of communication may be noticed. At the conclusion of the project, interview can be repeated and actual patterns seen can be analyzed. This may aid in implementing another complex design project. The authors also discuss some of the communication problems which occurred between groups during the design of a jet engine and propose strategies to address them. These same principles could be applied to the design and implementation of personal health records and national health information infrastructure (NHII) in general.

Article reference:

Sosa, M. E., Eppinger, S. D., & Rowles, C. M. (2007). Are Your Engineers Talking to One Another When They Should? Harvard Business Review, 85(11), 133-142.