Well so much for certification, it sounds like CMS doesn’t care whether or not PHRs get certified (grin). It is almost an impossible task as well with all the areas of integration to cover, so certification could theoretically be done in perhaps just part of the program I think.

So where will certification go? Will it exist for PHRs? Certification is not needed obviously for the pilot program. Bottom line is that technology is moving so fast we simply do not have the time for months of meetings to accomplish this task any longer, and again with web based PHRs, who can cover every entity and vendor it touches, maybe some rethinking Mr. Leavitt? Business intelligence software might be able to sort this out a little faster as we pretty much all have the picture on what needs to be accomplished in a very short time.

Interesting too on how Google is included, one of the big software companies out there that protects and offers secure services to the enterprise and government, but yet we keep hearing about the doubts that their PHR is secure enough? Again, I post more stories about government and other company security breaches and have yet to have one related to Google or Microsoft as of yet and their PHRs are still free too.

In all of this we still have one issue to cover, and that is education of the patients and consumers who are going to use the PHRs, and this is huge, nobody seems to be touching this with a ten foot pole, but our citizens of the US need help and training to use the software as everyone is at a different level. Community outreach programs need to be established whether at hospitals, practices, where ever, but the folks that are not real tech savvy are going to need help, so don’t assume all the seniors are going to jump in feet first and perhaps add this process to the plan of the pilot roll out, or it’s not going to work.Sad Dollar

Since this starts in January, better get some heads up help and education processes lined up now. BD

Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have chosen four personal health record vendors to participate in a pilot program for Medicare recipients in Utah and Arizona. The PHR providers will be Google, HealthTrio, NoMoreClipboard and PassportMD, according to a CMS media advisory. Officials plan to make a formal announcement this week.

In the pilot project, Medicare recipients in the two states will have claims information automatically added to their online PHRs beginning in early January.

CMS names four PHR vendors for Medicare pilot program

Related Reading:

CCHIT to Certify Personal Health Records

CCHIT Offers PHR Web Site – Personal Health Records

CCHIT Certification and HIE Transactions – The Process and What It Means

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