CARMICHAEL, CA - Intel’s health group created an electronic personal health record recently for Eskaton Senior Residences and Services in Carmichael. Recent national surveys indicate that more Americans are developing an interest in this technology, produced by Intel and hundreds of other vendors in the healthcare industry.

Intel and Eskaton launched a Web-based application that enables residents to view scanned versions of their medical records. “With this project, the barriers to adoption [of EMRs] are lower. We are priming the pump to get people accustomed to electronic medical records,” said Doug Busch, chief technical officer of Intel’s Health Group.

Intel’s innovations are the tip of the iceberg for the electronic personal health record market. Several of the nation’s largest insurance companies such as Aetna and WellPoint offer Web-based PHRs for their subscribers. WebMD, the online health information resource, powers personal health records for many of these companies as well as its own Web site.

After launching its first PHR in 1999, WebMD added features such as patient lab results and claims data to enrich its consumer resources. In June the federal government expressed interest in personal health records by contracting WebMD and ViPS for a six-month study focusing on PHRs and claims data for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

 “The real jet fuel for PHRs is leveraging the claims data, which has been very helpful in reflecting on patient health,” said Phil Marshall, MD, vice president of product strategy at WebMD. “Consumers need a better context for their health decisions. My concern is about how the PHR works into the clinical workflow.”

Many vendors are already integrating personal health records with an electronic medical record system. Companies like CapMed and MedKey offer software-based PHRs compliant with HL-7 standards and EMR vendors like NextGen and GE Healthcare. They also include a USB thumbdrive to download and transport health information. Several Web-based applications like TouchNetworks’ HUB enable patients to consolidate and modify their medical documents in one location, permitting access to their physicians and other individuals.

In her research on PHRs, Jill Burrington-Brown, professional practice manager at the America Health Information Management Association, found that convenience, ease of use and safety will be key consumer selling points in the market of electronic PHRs.