Ga. insurers unveil easy-access e-records

Georgia's largest health insurer plans to offer its members a personalized medical record that can be accessed over the Internet. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia just unveiled "the personal health record" and said it will be available to the insurer's 3.1 million members starting in late August. Kaiser Permanente, meanwhile, is planning to roll out an electronic health record in Georgia's Gwinnett County this week. All 286,000 of Georgia's Kaiser members will be able to use it starting September 8. The Blue Cross personal health record will be loaded with claims data, test results and other information from each participating health care provider the patient sees, Blue Cross said. Adoption rate may be somewhat slow if the past is prologue, however: In New York, about 38,000 of Empire Blue Cross's 5 million members have decided to set up personal health records since it was first offered last year.

To get the scoop on this effort:
- take a look at this story from the AP