I talk about this quite a bit here, especially since I am actively involved and have helped my own 85 year old mother with putting her records into a PHR. I also was skeptical about the success when initially announced, again going back to lack of education and training. PHRs are not just something you put out there and wait for the consumers to show up, education and training is needed in order to SHOW VALUE. We seem to have a difficult time with this word “value” all over the place today from non-participants and the only way to create value is to educate. 
I also see a lot folks writing about PHRs and when I ask specific questions on how they are using a program I also tend to get one big zero, in other words, “Magpie Healthcare”, in the fact that so many experts still succumb to the belief that PHRs are for “those guys over there” and in actuality are non participants themselves. Here’s the original announcement:
CMS names four PHR vendors for Medicare pilot program
Personal Health Records (PHR), I don’t do technology said the CEO, “it’s for those guys over there”
How many members of Congress use a PHR for example? Non-participants normally can’t see the value. A PHR is something for everyone at every walk of life, not just for the peasants. I did a follow up post, the pilot was not working well with little participation.
Where are the PHR mentors – education required as the Arizona ...
The bottom line is to invest in educating our citizens in the US, and nobody seems to be able to get a handle on this. We have devices coming out right and left that report data, what’s the average level of knowledge with the average consumer on this, zero! I say this as I interact and ask questions all the time, this is the reality. We seem to be so wrapped up in the importance of running business intelligence algorithms today that we forget the “human side” of all of this and assume that consumers will read and get all of this – they don’t. We have a huge society of people who do not read and education and training is needed to reach out. Everybody talks about it, but in reality we have a real “no go” here and an internet full of all the information needed with those who talk about the processes and many failing to be participants themselves. This is the reality of the pot calling the kettle black. BD
One Hell of a Training Program Needed – The Bottom Line to Success in Health IT
Medicare PHR Choice offered to Arizona and Utah beneficiaries through 2010.
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) November 19, 2009 -- Medicare PHR Choice, a pilot program that provides beneficiaries with direct input of claims data into online personal health records (PHRs), will continue through December 2010 according to officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The pilot is available to people with Original Fee-for-Service Medicare who are primary residents of Utah and Arizona.
Medicare PHR Choice allows beneficiaries to choose from one of four PHR tools to maintain their health information electronically. The PHR companies--Google Health, HealthTrio, NoMoreClipboard.com, and PassportMD--offer beneficiaries a range of consumer PHR services and features so they may choose which format will best meet their needs. Enrollment in the PHR Choice pilot is free, and some vendors offer additional services for a small fee.
In addition, the Medicare PHR Choice participants are able to enter other health provider and prescription information to their online records. Depending on the specific PHR tool selected, participants may be able to authorize other data transfers, such as prescription records from a participating pharmacy. PHRs also may offer links to tools that help consumers manage their health, including wellness programs for tracking diet and exercise, information about drugs and medical devices, health education information, and applications that detect potential medication interactions.
Medicare Extends Personal Health Record Pilot
PHR's are still an idea whose time had not yet come. I have one. I had something in my eye that wouldn't go away. Went to an eye doctor and got an exam and a long sad tale about his EMR and its shortcomings. When I asked for a copy of my report he said "of course" but it will have to be hard copy. He has no way to transfer an electronic version. I paid FedEx Office 89 cents a page to get an electronic version for my PHR.
ReplyDeleteI have been watching my weight. I post my weight but not in a format that is meaningful. A little 3 column spreadsheet for date, weight and a note would be much more useful for me, and potentially, my doctor.
Would also like to have a convenient way to post long bike rides to compare my performance over time -- hopefully it is improving and so is my health.
Even Intel is getting into the act and using trend analysis for telephone use to detect signs of ageing: http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_dishman_take_health_care_off_the_mainframe.html
Data, data, data and only limited ways for an individual to capture their data and retrieve it in a meaningful way.
In the really early days of the Internet (not that long ago) we logged on, downloaded email, signed off, read and replied, signed on, and sent. That's kind of where we are with PHRs. Lots of promise but not yet ready for prime time.