The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is launching a two-state pilot program to provide online personal health records.
The initiative is aimed at providing patients with better care while also reducing costs, government officials said.
Starting in January, Medicare beneficiaries in Arizona and Utah will be offered a choice of commercially available PHR options. Medicare will populate each record with up to two years of the individual's claims data.
CMS rolled out a similar initiative in South Carolina last April.
Medicare's administrative contractor, Noridian Administrative Services, has released a solicitation to potential PHR vendors for the Arizona and Utah project. They have until September 8 to submit applications to participate in the pilot. The four selected vendors will be announced on October 20.
"At Medicare, we strive to find innovative ways to better serve our beneficiaries," said CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. "This pilot is designed to evaluate how well PHRs meet the needs of our beneficiaries and whether PHRs can improve health outcomes and lower costs."
"This exciting pilot will be a major step forward for Medicare," said Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. "We believe that it will provide information and tools that will empower consumers to manage their health."
Beneficiaries who select one of the participating PHR vendors can add other personal health information to the claims data. Depending on the specific product, they may be able to authorize links to other personal electronic information such as pharmacy data. PHRs also can offer links to tools that help consumers manage their health, such as wellness programs for tracking diet and exercise, medical devices, health education information and applications to detect potential medication interactions.
Beneficiaries can elect to allow family members to have access to their PHR. They can also provide access to the PHR to their healthcare providers.