Kaiser, Microsoft to Test PHR Links

HDM Breaking News, June 9, 2008

Kaiser Permanente will test enabling users of its My Health Manager personal health records software to transfer data with Microsoft Corp.’s HealthVault, a PHR and consumer health platform.

The pilot program, which will be done by employees of Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser, is designed to expand the functionality of My Health Manager by giving users access to a range of information and services from HealthVault. More than 30% of Kaiser’s 8.7 million members are “active” users of its PHR, says Anna-Lisa Silvestre, vice president of online services at Kaiser Permanente.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft is working with more than 40 vendor partners to offer services via HealthVault. These services include, in various stages of readiness: PHR software, secure messaging software, searchable reference content, health risk assessment applications, and patient monitoring and fitness devices.

But many of these services already are available to Kaiser, which hopes this fall to assess the results of the pilot program and determine whether to expand connectivity with HealthVault to its health plan members.

Kaiser and Microsoft will test a small number of functions to assess the reliability of data exchange between My Health Manager and Health Vault, Silvestre says. For instance, Kaiser’s PHR does not give members an easy way to store data collected from in-home monitoring devices, such as blood pressure or glucose levels.

Kaiser employees participating in the pilot also will test standards for exchanging the Continuity of Care Document, which is a standards-based medical summary listing such information as immunizations, allergies, conditions and medications. They also will test privacy and security models.

More information is available at healthvault.com.

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