Vaulting ambition
The Conservatives may give commercial health record platforms a big role in their NHS IT strategy. But how are they doing in the US?
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Tories may offer private record stores
Patients may be given the option to transfer their health records to Google or Microsoft personal health record platforms under a Conservative government. According to newspaper reports, patients may be given the option of moving their medical notes to services provided by private companies, such as the US technology giants. Both technology firms have been […]
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Interoperable PHRs could save US $21bn a year
A US study has projected that personal health records have the potential to save the US healthcare system €16.3 billion a year.
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Google joins Continua e-health alliance
Google has joined Continua Health Alliance, the Intel-led international coalition working to develop standards to enable interoperable e-health products and services for the personal health market.
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ICW looks to integrate PHRs with iPhone
InterComponentWare (ICW) has announced plans to integrate the Apple iPhone and other smartphones with the Life Sensor personal health record to transmit vital emergency medical information to hospital staff. Patients who have access to ICW’s web-based LifeSensor system can print out a personal emergency card with a one-time use personal identification number to carry in […]
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Google CEO unveils Google Health
The veil came off the world’s worst-kept secret in healthcare IT Thursday, as Google chairman and chief executive Eric Schmidt announced the beta release of Google Health at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference in Orlando, Florida. For now, the product is limited to the US market, though Alfred Spector, Google […]
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Major trial of PHRs starts in Germany
Germany’s largest health insurance fund, Barmer, is working with InterComponentWare AG (ICW) on a three year research study looking at the benefits and acceptance of personal health records. Barmer will use ICW’s web-based LifeSensor technology to offer a personal health record to its seven million members at a cost of 23.80 Euros per individual per year, […]
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Microsoft launches HealthVault
Microsoft has launched a major personal health record initiative based on a secure website that allows users to store and share their health records using a free online service. The HealthVault portal allows users to store and share their medical histories, immunisation details, and data from monitoring devices such as glucose and cholestoral levels. A […]
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Personal health records high on HIMSS agenda
Personal health records, patient identification, interoperability and, of course, quality were high on the agenda at the annual Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), in the recovering US city of New Orleans, Neil Versel writes. An Accenture study released at the start of last week’s meeting suggested that two-thirds of Americans consider electronic health […]
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Americans want personal health records
The majority of Americans want to be able to access an online personal health record (PHR), providing them with details of their medical record. According to a survey conducted by the US health IT research body Connecting for Health, 61% of Amercans questioned agreed with the statement: "It’s my health information. I should have access […]
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