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Personal Health Record

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Does it really save or reduce the amount of paid claims to enlist the employees in a Personal Health Record?

There are no objective, independent studies that Personal Health Records save companies money on employee health care.

While Personal Health Records or PHRs are a hot topic in the field of Human Resources and medicine, little research has been conducted on the topic. Ideally, a Personal Health Record is an online history of all of the patient’s medical care from a variety of sources. The theory is that patients will receive better care, and avoid duplication, by having all the information in one electronic file.

Recent articles on PHRs have been published in prestigious journals such as the Annals of Medicine, the Annals of Internal Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, none of these articles included research on the effectiveness or cost savings of PHRs.

There are several concerns about PHRs. Many rely on the patient’s memory to complete the initial record – and that memory may be faulty. While PHRs may include information from many sources, many doctors will want to run their own tests or diagnostic procedures – especially if the information in the PHR is more than 6 months old. So having all the information in one place doesn’t necessarily save money.

The second concern is privacy. It is illegal to discriminate against employees based on their disability status or medical information, under the ADA. There is a strong concern that using a company-sponsored PHR would enable employers to view such information, and use it illegally.

If a company is self-insured, in order for PHRs to be cost-effective, the savings would have to outweigh the cost. If establishing a PHR system cost $50 per employee, the employer would be saving money only if workers saved an average of more than $50 on health care, by using the PHR.  So far there is no concrete evidence that patients save even one dollar.

If an employer offers health care insurance through an insurance company, there is an even lower chance that the company will realize savings. Cynics point out that even if there is a savings on health care, the insurance company might very well pocket it, rather than lowering premiums.

While the jury is still out on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of PHRs, more information should be available within a few years. Currently several major employers including Walmart and Intel are testing PHRs on groups of employees.