The consumer healthcare technology platform iTriage (recently aquired by Aetna) announced an integration of Microsoft HealthVault personal healthcare record (PHR) into its iPhone mobile application. This connection enables iTriage users to view and access their records stored within Microsoft HealthVault, right from the palm of their hand.

More than three million people have used iTriage to view information on symptoms, diseases, procedures, medications, and to access a nationwide directory of medical providers. As the world’s leader in Symptom-to-Provider™ pathway technology, iTriage has been touted by ABC News as the one-stop health app that allows patients to not only know what’s wrong with them, but also know where to go for treatment.

All those who have used iTriage to access Google Health PHR from mobile devices should know that Google Health is being discontinued for viewing, entering or editing data on January 1, 2012. However, Google Health PHR data will remain available for transfer through January 1, 2013. You can also use the Direct Project proprocols to transfer your health data. To learn more, please visit: Microsoft HealthVault.

“PHRs offer consumers a great way to monitor their health. Our iTriage vision includes being the mobile aggregator for multiple PHRs in the future, “explained Peter Hudson, M.D., co-founder of iTriage, LLC. “We believe today’s HealthVault PHR integration into iTriage will give consumers a convenient and easy way to access their health information anywhere, anytime."

Consumers can download the free iTriage app through the iTunes® app store or Android™ Market. Microsoft HealthVault access through iTriage is immediately available for iPhone devices. Access through Android devices will be available in a few weeks

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, today announced a free webinar that will discuss the current state of the HIE model. The “Dispelling the Myth that All Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) Are Created Equal” session will take place from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012.

“We look to bring some clarity to these burning issues with our collective panel of industry thought leaders and help organizations realize the steps and considerations that should be taken to maximize effectiveness in participating in their neighborhood health information exchange.”

Through a panel discussion, the webinar will examine how the HIE model has evolved, the major players involved and the factors all stakeholders should consider. Additionally, panelists will discuss potential impacts of the Direct Project and the National Health Information Network (NHIN) and offer attendees real-world solutions for assuring stakeholders’ trust in the clinical exchange. An open forum will follow the panel discussion to enable attendees to submit questions specific to their own organizations.

Hosted by Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC, the panel of healthcare professionals with extensive expertise in health information exchange, privacy and security and PHI, will include:

• Laura Kolkman, president, Mosaica Partners
• Jan Root, president and CEO, Utah Health Information Network (UHIN)
• William O’Byrne, executive director, NJ-HITEC
• Kate Berry, CEO, National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC)
• Jennifer Covich Bordenick, CEO, eHealth Initiative (eHI)

“Building and maintaining sustainable models for HIEs is top of mind with healthcare executives, IT and operational directors across both the public and private sectors—health systems, IPAs, group practices, payers, HMOs and TPAs,” said Barrett. “We look to bring some clarity to these burning issues with our collective panel of industry thought leaders and help organizations realize the steps and considerations that should be taken to maximize effectiveness in participating in their neighborhood health information exchange.”

Those interested in attending may register for the HIE webinar here or visit www.ehnac.org for more information.

About EHNAC

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include electronic health networks, payers, financial services firms, health information exchanges, medical billers, outsourced services and e-prescribing solution providers.

EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit www.ehnac.org or contact info@ehnac.org.

A new online guide is available from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to help hospitals and other health care organizations anticipate, avoid and address problems that can occur when adopting and using electronic health records.

The free tool, called the "Unintended Consequences Guide," was created to provide practical troubleshooting knowledge and resources. Experts from the RAND Corporation, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Kaiser Permanente-Colorado and the American Health Information Management Association Foundation created the guide. The work was supported by a contract from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The guide can be found at www.ucguide.org.

"The goal is to provide administrators, technology officers and health care providers with information that will help them successfully adopt and use electronic health records," said Spencer Jones, an information scientist at RAND and a co-author of the guide. "Moving from paper records to electronic records is a major undertaking and the 'Unintended Consequences Guide' is an essential tool to help that migration."

"One of the purposes in funding this effort was to help health IT implementers understand the interactions between humans and technology that are often the source of unintended consequences," said Michael Harrison, a senior social scientist with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and a collaborator on the guide.

"Having recently completed the largest civilian roll out of a national electronic health record system in the United States, we want to share our knowledge about implementation and how electronic records can transform health care delivery," said Dr. Ted Palen of the Kaiser Permanente-Colorado Institute for Health Research.

Use of electronic health records is growing rapidly among hospitals and other health care providers in the United States, spurred in part by major federal investments in the technology. Legislation approved in 2009 eventually may provide as much as $30 billion in federal aid to hospitals and physicians that invest in electronic health records.

The guide was developed for use by all types of health care organizations -- from large hospital systems to solo physician practices.

The creators anticipate that the primary users will be those responsible for adopting electronic health records, including federally designated Regional Extension Centers, chief information officers, directors of clinical informatics, electronic health records "champions" or "super users," administrators, information technology specialists and clinicians involved in adoption of the technology. Frontline users of electronic health records such as physicians and nurses also may also find the guide useful.

The online resource is based on the research literature, other practice-oriented guides for electronic health record adoption, research by its authors and interviews with leaders of organizations that have recently switched to electronic health records. The guide represents a compilation of the known-best practices for anticipating, avoiding and addressing unintended consequences of adopting electronic health records. However, researchers say, this area of research is still in its infancy.