Eyeing the Personal Health Portal - Page 2

Moving beyond paper

But the nation's health care system, as well as the practices of its providers, is mired in old-fashioned paperwork. It may be much more resistant to change than a manufacturer's supply chain.

"The Cleveland Clinic does not have the ability to build a connection to every hospital, pharmacy and doctor in the country; Google does," Harris said. But Google has found an unusual partner in Cleveland Clinic.

The medical center, comprising 18,000 physicians, a 1,000-bed medical center and 10 other community hospitals, has been transforming its operations for seven years -- way ahead of the curve. Five years ago, it launched MyPractice, its electronic PHR system. MyPractice is now used by all health professionals when caring for patients.

Then, three years ago, it added MyChart, an Internet portal that lets patients access their information from anywhere.

"We wanted to get information directly in the hands of patients and to be able to provide that information in the convenience of their home," Harris said. "The patient no longer has to be their own medical historian. They can simply go online and look it up."

Now more than 120,000 patients use MyChart. It offers more than a look at the medical center's records. Cleveland Clinic's physicians have written a set of rules run against each patient to create a personalized health maintenance schedule for that person.

Patients can enter information from their homes. For example, the system could prompt a 50-year-old woman to make appointments for annual mammograms. A diabetic can enter daily blood glucose levels into the system, instead of having to write them down on a piece of paper -- and perhaps forget to bring the paper to the next office visit. The hospital now is doing a study of diabetic patients to see whether MyCharts will improve their health.

The Federal government has been promoting the idea of a nationwide electronic PHR system for years. The proposed National Health Information Network, under the guidance of the Department of Health and Human Services, takes the approach of letting states or regions build their own regional health information organizations. Then, they'll be connected -- somehow.

The Department of Health and Human Services did not make a spokesperson available.

The president’s goal is making electronic medical records available for most Americans by 2014.

However, as the Health Care Information and Management Systems Society points out, "The concept of NHIN requires extensive collaboration by a diverse set of stakeholders." Unless every provider uses the same standards for data, it could be impossible for regions to exchange information reliably.

[cob:Pull_Quote]Said Harris, "In an absence of an integrator the size of Google or Microsoft, you could build out that exchange in your region, but as soon as someone moves out of that region, it's useless."

Meanwhile, just as businesspeople began using consumer applications such as browsers and Web mail on their office computers before their IT departments got enterprise systems up and running, consumers may take their health information into their own hands thanks to Google or Microsoft.

The eCleveland Clinic initiative will transform health care the way Web-based applications and social media have changed shopping, entertainment and communication, Harris says. "Patients are directly engaged and actively involved in maintaining their own health. It allows them to interact with our organization in a more typical 21st-century model -- online."