Medicare announced today that it is extending its Personal Health Record (PHR) pilot project for residents of Utah and Arizona.
This is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Those of you who read my blog know that I’m a big fan of PHRs, but you have to know when you’re backing the wrong approach.
What’s wrong with this pilot project? A lot:
Based on an Outdated Model of a PHR. The Medicare pilot is built off a first generation definition of a PHR, circa 2005. In that model, the PHR is basically an online repository for online health information. Today’s thinking about the PHR is to conceptualize it as a PHR “system” — a platform (the online repository) around which multiple, integrated applications can be plugged in (ala iPhone and apps).
Populated With Claims Data. The PHR is populated with Medicare claims data; this is an inferior source of data and far below the value of having real clinical data.
Not Updated. Medicare has told patients that it will not continue to populate patient PHRs with data after the pilot is over. What’s the incentive for beneficiaries to sign up or spend any time getting up the learning curve?
Result — Very Low Uptake. The press release states that 1,000 beneficiaries have signed up so far, a penetration of less than 0.1% of Medicare beneficiaries in these states.
Today’s economy is increasingly based on viral business models — if beneficiaries haven’t signed up yet, what makes Medicare think anything is going to change by extending the pilot another 12 months?
Kaiser has over 35% uptake of its PHR and Group Health Cooperative has achieved over 50% penetration…this is where Medicare should be looking for best practices.
Discussion
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