HARTFORD, CT – Personal health records could become an important part of the ‘meaningful use of IT’ provision for federal stimulus funding because they foster better patient engagement through health IT, according to an industry analyst.

Since  the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), PHRs have become an important tool for engagement, said Lynne Dunbrack, program director for Health Industry Insights.

It’s important for both providers and payers, who are looking to strengthen provider relations in a competitive, challenged environment.

HII is readying results of its annual survey on payers’ health IT initiatives. Last year’s survey showed that less than 20 percent were evaluating solutions and only 5 percent were planning PHR deployments in 2009.

PHRs have evolved considerable since they were introduced, said Dunbrack. Better 
functionality has made them more than just e-file cabinets, she said, and PHR vendors are making them more valuable with alerts and remote access to data.

“If you can engage members with these tools, you can impact compliance,” she said. “That’s an opportunity for cost savings, especially in managing chronic diseases.”

Aetna and WellPoint are big proponents of PHRs and continue to add functionality. Aetna deployed its PHR, powered by its CareEngine platform, broadly in January 2008. Being late in the game gave the Connecticut-based insurer the opportunity to build a next-generation PHR that serves as an engagement tool with care alerts for members and providers, said Dan Greden, head of Aetna’s e-health product management division.

As a result, he said, Aetna has seen “significantly higher compliance” among its PHR users, which has resulted in improved quality of care and reduction in costs.

WellPoint has two PHRs, one powered by WebMD and its DaytonHealthKonnect Integrated Health Record (IHR).

The secret to engaging members for any tool is to give them actionable, personalized information to use in a meaningful way in a timely manner, said Charles Kennedy, MD, vice president of health IT for the Indianapolis-based insurer. “It’s the most important piece of functionality for PHRs,” he said.

WellPoint has been delivering advisories and current medication lists at the point of care and touts its PHRs as allowing consumers to interact with care, he said. The thing to watch now is health information exchange – potentially providing connectivity to claims and clinical data, including PHR data.

“We should have a path to better, specific data,” he said.