personal health records (PHR)

> Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, has been slapped with $634.5 million in fines for misrepresenting the risks of using the drug. Article (sub. req.)

> In part due to nursing shortages, demand for medical assistants is on the rise. Article

> Louisiana health planners continue to …

This week, Aetna has launched a big-bucks consumer advertising campaign designed to promote use of Web-based personal health records. The health plan is pulling out all of the stops, including national television spots and …

Perhaps in counter to a recent power grab by large employers, health insurance industry trade group America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of America have released their own model for a portable personal health record. The new standards call for creating a Web-based personal health records--maintained, not surprisingly, by insurers--that are transportable from one insurance plan to another with little trouble. The records will include …

> Magellan, which manages behavioral health services in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, announced that it will end its contract with WellPoint in March of 2007. Report

> The Houston Chronicle examines the promise of the personal health record (PHR). Article

> Dr. Gregory Nelson of Pennsylvania made his second appearance …

> Wellpoint announces 360 Health, which it claims is "the industry's first program to integrate all care management programs and tools into a centralized, consumer-friendly resource that assists members in navigating the healthcare system, using their health benefits and providing information to help them to access comprehensive and appropriate care." The service includes the opportunity for members to compile a personal health record. Other insurers, including Aetna, have announced …

Medicare officials said they will work with two insurance companies to develop a personal health record for Medicare beneficiaries. The pilot is expected to launch in January in some areas. Capstone Government Solutions (a joint venture of BCBS of Tennessee) and Cigna Government Services were awarded CMS contracts to develop the technology involved. In a twist, both contractors say they will do the work for free. "Obviously, we'll learn a lot, as well as the government," says Cigna's Gloria Barone.

- see this Modern Healthcare article

Intuit has been making waves since it announced an agreement with Ingenix, Hewitt Associates and several others about getting into the personal health record space. FierceHealthcare editor Matthew Holt recently met with Mike Battaglia, the new SVP of Health Care at Intuit. Battaglia has come from Humana, where he led the insurer's consumer research and marketing efforts. That he's moved to Intuit, a company known for fixing information and transactional problems for consumers and …

> Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, the Bush administration's pick to permanently head the FDA, clarified controversial statements on cancer which opponents have criticized. Article

> Some analysts think Guidant may face more lawsuits after an internal review criticized the company's handling of safety problems with its defibrillators last year. Two new lawsuits were filed yesterday. …

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation is running one of the more successful personal health record pilots in the country. PAMF says it has signed up 54,000 people to use it's system--impressive numbers indeed. But all the more impressive when you take into account the fact that 50,000 people have logged in to use the system, according to Paul Tang, the group's CIO. Blog

This week has been personal health record survey week. Both the Markle Foundation and Manhattan Research came out with survey results showing that there is widespread approval of the concept of personal health records among the public, and a minority are even likely to use one. This, of course, is news in the wake of the Gulf Coast hurricanes, which showed the need for better medical …