PHR Options for Meeting Meaningful Use Stage 2

An EHR vendor recently asked me for some suggestions of PHR or portal options that they could use with their EHR software. Turns out that this is going to be particularly important given the changes in meaningful use stage 2 that require you to not only share medical information with the patient, but the patients have to actually access that information as well (unless that gets taken out in the MU stage 2 rule making process). Regardless, the question of which PHR and/or patient portal solutions was an interesting question. Here’s my answer to him (with a little bit added):

I only know of a few and you’ve probably heard of the ones I know about. I’m also not sure of the price of the various options really [He wanted to know of an inexpensive option]. Here’s what I know:

I like what NoMoreClipboard has done and that they’ve been doing it a really long time. They have a good understanding of how to work with many different vendors and also sizes of practices or healthcare institutions. Plus, you can be sure they’re going to be on top of all the meaningful use stage 2 requirements you’ll need to meet.

I also know that Medical Web Experts was working hard on a patient portal. I’m not sure how far it’s come since I first talked to them though. It might be one worth checking out. Just be sure that they can meet the meaningful use stage 2 requirements.

Then, of course you have Microsoft HealthVault. Everyone seems to know about them. I’ve heard that they’re a bit of a challenge to integrate with. Hopefully they also don’t have the same fate as Google Health. Although, Microsoft has a much better position in healthcare than Google ever did.

Coincidentally, I also was just emailed about a brand new book just released by O’Reilly Media about HealthVault and how to integrate with it. It’s called Enabling Programmable Self with HealthVault: An Accessible Personal Health Record. I’ve heard it’s a pretty technical book that would be quite useful if you decided to go with Healthvault for your PHR.

What other PHR and/or patient portal options are out there? I’m sure there are more that I’m missing and have probably just forgotten about them.

I’ll be interested to see if meaningful use stage 2 will drive the return of the PHR.

Full Disclosure: NoMoreClipboard is an advertiser on this site.

About the author

John Lynn

John Lynn is the Founder of HealthcareScene.com, a network of leading Healthcare IT resources. The flagship blog, Healthcare IT Today, contains over 13,000 articles with over half of the articles written by John. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 20 million times.

John manages Healthcare IT Central, the leading career Health IT job board. He also organizes the first of its kind conference and community focused on healthcare marketing, Healthcare and IT Marketing Conference, and a healthcare IT conference, EXPO.health, focused on practical healthcare IT innovation. John is an advisor to multiple healthcare IT companies. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can be found on Twitter: @techguy.

7 Comments

  • My company, Avado, includes a Collaborative Health Record (like a PHR) in our Patient Relationship Management system. Traditional patient portal functionality is in it though it’s a superset of traditional simple patient portals. The price is right as the items that are needed to address Stage 2 Patient Engagement requirements are free (we have a freemium business model). We are partnering with EMR vendors to fill this need for them and their customers.

    I’m happy to give anyone a demo. Just contact me directly or via our website (avado.com).

    By way of background, I was the founder of Microsoft’s Health platform business (i.e., the part that makes money as the underlying technology for 3rd party partners).

  • Hi Dave Chase,
    Thanks for stopping by. I’ve enjoyed your articles on Techcrunch. Very interesting insights.

    I’ll have to check out Avado. It’s smart to offer the MU services free. Good strategy.

  • My company, MCR GLOBAL Inc. offer a solution for EMR vendors and can integrate to fulfill
    MU. We are not only a PHR but offer the patient our web app, the wallet Crisis Card (with the patent pending QR code technology), a digital remote device and a seamless 24/7 transmittal service.
    http://m.mycrisisrecords.com
    Portal functionality is a natural fit for EMR’s seeking Patient Engagement which we refer to as patient empowerment.
    Anyone interested in a demo can reach me at: jtheis@mycrisisrecords.com.
    I am the founder and CEO of this patent pending mobile health technology enterprise.

  • Recognizing the need for reducing the number of lives lost due to medical mistakes, LifeSaver App (www.lifesaverapp.com) developed an application to provide EMS and ER personnel with immediate life saving personal medical data (PHR) that will significantly reduce the medical and prescription error problems while interfacing with EHR’s through XML or HL7 protocol. Although this applies to everyone, it is significantly important with Medicaid / Medicare patients or individuals in an accident where they are either unconscious, incoherent, or simply cannot remember all the important medical information that can save their lives. A recent Human study demonstrates the difference between having and not having medical records saves over $29 per ER visit, while reducing the number of medical errors. Please check out the LifeSaver App website and spread the word, as this App will Save Lives and Save Time, while reducing Medical Errors and Healthcare Costs.

  • I must admit that I wouldn’t have thought of these apps to satisfy the PHR like requirements in meaningful use stage 2. Thanks for sharing.

  • Updox.com

    Looks rather comprehensive with secure email as well, plus hooks for integrating with EMRs. I think Amazing Charts EMR has Updox integration.

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