Aetna enters PHR market with medical info option

Aetna has become the latest in a crowded field of PHR contenders, going up against everyone from Google and Microsoft to giant employer coalitions Dossia and WebMD.  Aetna's model, called SmartSource, gathers data from patient claims records to form a personal record, then using this information, helps guide consumers to educational material that could potentially help them research their conditions and vulnerabilities. Before rolling the product out, Aetna tested SmartSource on 35,000 of its own employees, and now hopes to roll out to its 1.68 million commercial enrollees. In so doing, Aetna is following in the footsteps of some other health insurance companies, including UnitedHealth and WellPoint, who have also pulled together basic PHRs using internal claims data.|

To learn more about Aetna's new product:
- read this piece [1] from The New York Times

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AHIMA promotes PHR use. Report [4]
Giant employers move ahead with PHR project. Report [5]
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