If you haven’t seen the broadcast today from the Senate and are interested, as almost everyone is these days in electronic medical records and healthcare, take a look and listen to what some of the guests are saying to the committee.  It will give you an idea of where we are and some of the questions posed by members of the Senate. 

imageWhat was great to hear was that everyone represented here was pretty much in agreement all the way around.  We have the technology to connect and bring the world of electronic medical records and personal health records together and just need the funds.  As you can see from the list, there were representatives from both within government and outside.  Jack Cochran from Kaiser Permanente made a great presentation and referred to not only their electronic medical records, but also the PHR, which is accessed by patients and had become very popular and used heavily since it was made available.  Kaiser as you know works with the Microsoft HealthVault as well to make the records portable, let’s say in case one needed to see a physician out of network, those records could be shared at the patient’s discretion.image

The HealthVault was mentioned by Peter Neupert from Microsoft and it was interesting to see inquiries on the committee asking “what is it”.  It just somewhat caught me off guard here since this is a consumer product for all and I think our members of congress are also consumers, right?  Personally I believe since this is a product for everyone and it is free, the best way to understand how they work and relate, is to go get one, right?   They are for consumers anywhere so anyone can jump in to the digital age of an online personal health record and we need the funding to do so. 

Personal Health Records – Who’s in the Know and Who has one?
Why Use a PHR – Because It is there and it stands to help decrease medical errors

Interoperability Advice for the New Administration – AHIC

Anyway, I try to keep all the readers here up to date on what is going on with both electronic medical records and personal health records and probably have more information on this blog about PHRs than any other on the internet

Hmmmm, this blog might be a good place for Congress to search and find the latest and full summaries of information on both Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health, maybe? 

Nothing is better than having leadership set the example to see the value and we need an education program to help the consumers learn how to use and manage a PHR, they also help decrease medical errors and physicians having to guess at treatment plans when credible information is readily available. 

The lists of guests are below and you can click here to visit the site to listen to the video and there are some of my HealthVault PHR links in the related reading section below.  BD

 

Committee: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions


Jack Cochran, Executive Director, The Permanente Federation, Oakland, CA
Janet Corrigan, President, The National Quality Forum, Washington, DC
Valerie Melvin, Director of Information Technology, The Government Accounting Office, Washington, DC
Peter Neupert, Vice President, Microsoft Health Solutions, Redmond, WA
Mary Grealy, President, Health Leadership Council, Washington, DC

The bullet points expressed by Peter Neupert from Microsoft and pretty much agreed upon by all. 

Encourage Innovation

Reward doctors

Incentives for sharing

Focus on interoperability

Private sector to build the system

http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2009_01_15/2009_01_15.html

Related Reading:

Lawmakers Consider Adding Health IT to Stimulus Package – We Need some Congressional Algorithms
Education not Fear is Needed with Medical Health Records
How electronic records reach your doctor – Integrated through the Hospitals
Clinical Trials in the US – Begin involving the physicians and patients at the point of care to achieve greater success and participation with Personal Health Records
Healthcare leaders favor personal networks (Personal Health Records) to RHIOs for data exchange
Social Security likes PHRs too – wanting to work with EMR and PHR software with pilot program
Selling the bitter EMR pill (HIMSS meeting) ...IT and IS, CIOs and CEOs...Quit Chopping Trees to find the answer...
Surveys Said: Hospitals Cutting Back on I.T. – Time to Get your PHR
Technology “It’s for Those Guys Over There” said the CEO – I Don’t Do Digital Notes
Changing Paradigms – Personal Health Records Showing Real Value – Ask Aetna

Harvard Physician Suggests Getting a Personal Health Record Account

Peter Neupert, Corporate Vice President, Health Solutions Group, Microsoft and 4 Others Join the Foundation for NIH

Microsoft HealthVault and RelayHealth (McKesson) to Connect Doctors and Patients
Study Predicts Big Savings from PHRs (Personal Health Records) – Best Kept Secret in Healthcare?

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