Transparency: The Key to Unlocking Consumer-Directed Care

Transparency: The Key to Unlocking Consumer-Directed Care: "Forward-thinking health plans ( insurance companies) are using technology to harness these existing links and combine data to create personal health records (PHR) for their members. With the member’s permission, this comprehensive and secure look at a patient’s health status can be made available to the provider at the point of care, via the Internet, resulting in more efficient and higher-quality care. The creation of a PHR hosted by payors has a multitude of possibilities. Before providing care, a physician or hospital can first check the patient’s eligibility and review her allergies, current medications, recent diagnoses, etc. The benefits of this type of transparency – in which information is shared among the payor, provider and member – can include decreased misdiagnosis and drug interaction, reduced duplicate testing, improved patient care and satisfaction, higher enrollment in appropriate disease prevention programs, and more efficient use of the provider’s time.