After months of discussion, it looks like Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) is planning to move ahead with a bill promoting the use of PHRs. As anticipated, the bill would offer incentives of as much as $3 per patient to providers that play ball. The payments would come from an incentive fund drawing on dollars from the Medicare trust as well as health plans, drug and device manufacturers. Kennedy's PHR would work based on Web technology, rather than requiring doctors or hospitals to invest in more health IT infrastructure. Because it is Web-based, the record would be easily transportable from one provider to another, observers noted. But the consumer would still own the records nonetheless.
To get more details on the legislation:
- read this Modern Healthcare article (sub. req.)