WebMD, EMC Collaborate on PHR Webinar View the archive of a 9/15/09 webinar presented by WebMD Health Services and EMC, “Supporting Employee Wellness with Personal Health Records.” Congratulations to Our Award-Winning Customers! Recently, a number of WebMD clients were recognized for their achievements in employee health management. These included 15 WebMD customers who were recognized as “Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles” by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), a non-profit coalition of large employers. We are proud of our partnership with our clients, as well as our role in the effort to deliver integrated, personalized health and benefits management solutions that improve health outcomes and lower healthcare costs.

EMC Enhances
WebMD Personal Health Record with Personal
Health Monitoring

EMC Corporation has taken an industry-leading approach to population health management for seven years. The WebMD Health Record^SM is a central component of the company’s long-term strategy to support employee health.

EMC recently became the first WebMD client to incorporate the WebMD Personal Health Monitoring service, which integrates biometric data from home medical devices into employees’ existing personal health record (PHR). EMC has also incorporated additional PHR services from WebMD, including importing lab results, providing secure access codes for employees to share their health record online with providers, and making PHRs portable, which allows employees and their families to keep their lifelong health record even if they change employer or health plan.

Delia Vetter, senior director of benefits and programs for EMC, is a strong proponent of the personal health record. “We believe PHRs support the future delivery of healthcare,” she says. EMC’s goal is to educate employees about healthcare overall, including how it impacts them and their employer financially. Because individuals’ lifestyle behaviors can impact 50% of overall healthcare costs, employers need to connect individuals’ role to their costs and their employer’s costs.  “In the past, employees were shielded from the true costs of healthcare and who paid them,” Vetter adds. “Now, with the applications within the PHR, they can see the total cost of their care and their out-of-pocket costs, which has helped drive use of the PHR.”

We believe PHRs support the future delivery of healthcare

Additional PHR capabilities drive adoption

In line with its corporate culture, EMC firmly believes that technology is the way of the future in healthcare. With the right information at their fingertips, individuals are put in charge of their own care. And when individuals are educated about their health and healthcare and are exposed to different options through technology, they become more engaged. With access to their lab results, they can help eliminate redundancy and duplicate tests. And with complete records, employees can become an active part of their own and their family members’ safety: the PHR maintains complete records even over multiple providers, and can help reduce common (and costly) dangers such as adverse drug interactions.

With the right information at their fingertips,
individuals are put in charge of their own care.

“We want 100 percent PHR adoption,” states Vetter. “Our employees are a very savvy audience. They have to think it’s sexy.” To help drive adoption, EMC continues to integrate new technologies into the PHR, including remote patient monitoring, portability, access codes for providers, and imported lab results. “When we add technologies and help employees see the benefits, their interest is heightened. The more we drive them to the PHR, the more they want. And the more we put into it, the more they use it.”

According to Vetter, it’s important to use technology extensively to support the PHR. EMC has taken efforts to remove as much of the burden of maintaining an accurate, up-to-date PHR as possible from employees. Once employees complete the health risk assessment, they don’t need to enter data into their PHR; the information comes in automatically from a data warehouse and employees are notified each time new information is available. Employees quickly discovered they liked having the information accessible and returned to the system regularly.

To help drive adoption, EMC continues to integrate
new technologies into the PHR

PHR is at the center of individual healthcare

EMC promotes the PHR at every possible opportunity. The company wants employees to know that technology will help create a healthcare system that provides the best care with minimal risk. PHRs are at the center of healthcare change.

PHRs are at the center of healthcare change

EMC continues to educate employees about the information they have available and how to use it. Moving forward, EMC is driving to put PHRs at the center of future virtual clinics in which individuals can share their health information with providers anywhere in the world.

“It’s important to remember,” concludes Vetter, “the PHR isn’t the strategy: it’s a key component of the strategy. You need to know what you’re driving your workforce to, what you want their behavior to be, and then use the PHR to accomplish that.”