Beat your patients to PHRs!

While at an aforementioned meeting in Washington, DC I met a tech from Microsoft HealthVault. Part of our demonstration showcase meant sending a secure message to the patient, so I was curious to learn what I didn't know about HealthVault. As you might expect, that conversation opened up a whole new world. 

While Microsoft doesn’t market HealthVault as a PHR per se, they do offer it as a ...


“... free online service that stores your health records in a central location, then lets you use the information with apps to manage health conditions, create fitness plans, prepare for doctor visits... 

Keep health records for every member of your family, even pets.
See conditions, medications, and scanned copies of medical documents at a glance.
Prepare for emergencies:

• Access your records from any internet connection—great for travel or emergencies. Create an emergency profile for each member of your family. 
• Print the profile as a wallet card or page-sized sheet. 
• Include an emergency access code so the profile can be accessed online."

Do you think your patients might be interested in this whole new world? And the essential question: have you opened up this whole new world? When your patients start asking you about Personal Health Records and whether or not you can send them electronic copies of their health information, will you be in familiar or unfamiliar territory?

If you haven't already done so, visit HealthVault and, above all, create your own account. If you're in Canada, HealthVault is offered through Telus Health Space. Wherever you are, you owe it to yourself and your family, your patients, your practice and your profession ... and since we're on the p's, maybe even your pets! ... to be ahead of the curve on PHRs.

If you're a Direct Provider, meaning you have registered for a Direct address and certificate, you already have what it takes to send secure messages to your patients. Patients will get a secure Direct address if they sign up for HealthVault.  Health Information Service Providers  will be offering patients secure addresses as well, some free some not. This will depend partly on the EHR vendor's approach to PHRs. Either way, you can expect to see a growing demand to communicate health information to your patients not just other providers.  

Alistair Jackson, M.Ed.