The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced July 16 the release of a new handbook, which the federal agency says provides practical steps for health care professionals to follow when integrating interactive preventive health records (IPHRs).
“An Interactive Preventive Care Record: A Handbook for Using Patient-Centered Personal Health Records to Promote Prevention” is based on lessons learned from implementation using electronic health records (EHRs) from three different vendors at 14 different practices.
In a randomized trial of IPHRs, researchers found that IPHR users were more likely to be up-to-date on all preventive services compared with non-users, especially in the areas of screening tests and immunizations. The study findings showed that an IPHR and similar systems could improve patient outcomes, such as the delivery of evidence-based preventive care.
Download the handbook.
July 26th, 2012
Despite its mission to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful,” Google hasn’t had very much success in the health care arena. The Internet giant announced June 24 that it is retiring Google Health—its online version of a personal health record (PHR) platform, where consumers could organize their medical records. (more…)
July 29th, 2011
The group responsible for dubbing the terms “electronic health record” (EHR) and “personal health record” (PHR) says it has done all it set out to do. The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) will disband on Sept. 30.
“In a few short years, NAHIT has accomplished its mission: HIT has moved front and center in efforts to reinvent and reinvigorate the U.S. health system,” Jane Horowitz, NAHIT chief operating officer, said in an Aug. 17 press release.
Since its inception in 2002, NAHIT carved out several important milestones. In addition to creating key health information technology (HIT) terms for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT, the NAHIT helped shape Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on the use of bar codes for identifying medication. It also co-founded the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) and helped develop the definition of interoperability currently being used in proposed legislation on the meaningful use of EHRs.
But times are changing. “Going forward, the action is shifting from NAHIT’s focus on educating, advocating and building common ground to planning, implementing and using HIT to improving care, safety and efficiency,” says Horowitz.
“Other organizations are better positioned to help providers with implementation,” says Horowitz. “In particular, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has close ties with hospital chief executive officers while the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is the leading industry association for chief information officers.”
The American Medical Association (AMA) paints a picture slightly less rosy. According to AMNews (Dolan, Aug. 31), the alliance has had financial problems and has undergone organizational changes leading to Horowitz being the last remaining employee.
Not all of the NAHIT’s endeavors were successful, AMNews reports. Security concerns stalled NAHIT efforts to create a unique identifier patient (UPI) system — something the AMA has actively advocated against.
September 10th, 2009
The Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee reviewed at an Aug. 14 meeting in Washington, D.C. its latest recommendations for how physicians and hospital providers will be able to earn incentives for adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. (more…)
August 17th, 2009
The Mayo Clinic recently joined the growing number of providers, facilities, payers, and internet providers keeping and managing personal medical records on the internet. Advocates for Web-based personal health records (PHR) say the technology is more cost-effective and reduces medical errors.
(more…)
April 30th, 2009