WellNet Healthcare is targeting the Web 2.0 movement with the release of Point to Point Healthcare, described as a “Facebook-like social networking platform” for healthcare consumers.

P2P, developed by the Bethesda, Md.-based company’s Healthcare Interactive subsidiary, creates a secure Web 2.0 platform from which consumers can manage their healthcare. It includes tools, a communication wall to allow the user to interact with healthcare providers, a pass-through version of the consumer’s electronic medical record (which can be posted on Microsoft’s HealthVault and Google Health, among others), and a view of prescription medications that includes potential substitutes and links to telemedicine, care management and wellness services.

P2P is designed to complement WellNet’s Active Reporting System (ARS), an application for plan sponsors and employers. Launched late last year, ARS is designed to provide aggregated, unidentifiable employee healthcare data in a real-time, secure dashboard, giving employers a comprehensive view of the effectiveness of their health plan. The two applications round out WellNet’s Healthcare Performance Management (HPM) software suite.
 
“America’s current health system is mired by disjointed, untimely and hard-to-find information, hidden profit centers and monopolies in some markets. Those using and paying for healthcare, whether employers or consumers, are saddled with its inefficiencies and exorbitant costs,” said Keith Lemer, president of WellNet Healthcare, in a press release. “The revolution in healthcare won't be in electronic medical records, but in using technology like P2P and ARS to find out how to cut costs to make service more affordable. WellNet’s HPM solution increases the transparency and the flow of information to both the consumer and the health plan sponsor (employer) so as to increase health and drive down cost.”

Company officials say P2P has been beta tested with select customers for the past year. One of those customers is Cumulus Media.

"In the past, I wasn’t able to see more detail on where my company’s healthcare dollars were going,” said Martin Gausvik, CFO of Cumulus Media, a Blackstone Group portfolio company. “With ARS, I now understand where I am spending my money and how I can avoid future expenses while raising the level of employee engagement with P2P.”