Are Personal Health Records Breaking Out?
Health insurers have personal health records (PHRs) clearly in their sights, and many are already offering PHRs online at their member Web sites. While nearly a third of consumers track their health information in some form, just 1% of those health record-keepers are using any of the online applications that health plans — or various vendors and employers — are offering. Clearly, payers have yet to catch the attention of their members when it comes to PHRs. In order to realize the improvements in consumer empowerment, payer-patient communications, and care management that PHRs promise, health plan strategists must take control of members’ slow-moving PHR adoption curve. PHR product managers successful in boosting member adoption will examine the key health attitudes and behaviors of current health record-keepers, leveraging these insights to educate and entice additional users, as well as build a streamlined, integrated online PHR.
