WellPoint's Amerigroup is the first Medicaid plan in the nation to use a health record chip that enthusiasts are calling a "breakthrough health IT solution."
Amerigroup Nevada, one of two Medicaid managed care organizations in the state, is adopting the iChip, a personal health record technology developed by the startup LifeNexus that integrates clinical, claims and eligibility data into beneficiary access cards and mobile apps.
The 100,000 Nevadans covered by Amerigroup will have their personal health records stored in the cloud and on their access cards through the iChip, showing their medical history, medication lists, eligibility information, preventive care reminders and a summary of the last 90-days of healthcare utilization.
While several other large, unnamed health plans are using LifeNexus's iChip, Amerigroup Nevada says it is the first Medicaid organization to use the technology. Amerigroup Nevada president Eric Lloyd argues that it will bring a range of new administrative efficiencies and beneficiary experience improvements.
"iChip brings a secure, convenient and innovative solution to help our members get the preventative services and chronic care health screenings to live healthier lives," Lloyd said in a media release.
Founded in 2005 in Colorado and now based in San Francisco and led by David Strand, a former Medica CEO and former Cleveland Clinic COO, Life Nexus has been trying to bring its iChip to range of healthcare markets, from Medicaid programs and insurance companies to hospitals and physician groups.
With venture capital backing totaling $18 million as of last fall, the company has inked deals with Visa and Mastercard to incorporate the technology into their cards and is planning to launch a mobile platform that will offer the same health record technology in mobile phones.
Weighing in on the use of the technology in his home state, Nevada Senator Harry Reid said that the "iChip is an example of a breakthrough health IT solution that today allows Nevada's Medicaid members to experience higher quality outcomes when they and their family members visit their doctors with their current medical information."
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Amerigroup is one of two Medicaid plans in Nevada, along with UnitedHealthcare's Health Plan of Nevada, which isn't using the iChip technology.