Medical Mutual Collaborates With Physicians to Deliver New Personal Health Record Service

CLEVELAND, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical Mutual of Ohio will collaborate with its 23,000 physician network to promote the use of iHealth, an online personal health record (PHR) to its 1.6 million members.

Many health plans have rolled out online PHR services without involving physicians but patient uptake has been low; typically below one percent. Some health plans have even started paying their members to fill out an online PHR. Medical Mutual chose to collaborate with their network physicians using the trusted doctor-patient relationship to encourage the use of PHRs.

"We think the best way to encourage our members to use a PHR, which is shared with their doctor, is through the trust that comes with the patient- physician relationship. This opens the door to a host of other online interactions between patients and doctors, including secure e-mail, online appointment requests and Online Consultation(TM)," said Bob Mau, Medical Mutual's vice president of eBusiness.

Through the interactive online PHR service, iHealth, Medical Mutual members can create secure, transportable online personal health records for themselves and other members of their family. They will own and control these PHRs for life, even if they move, change doctors or insurers. The PHR can be accessed at any time, including emergencies, and can be shared with their doctors, pharmacists, health insurance companies, family members or other providers.

The iHealth service will also connect members online to their own doctors, their own health data and to Medical Mutual of Ohio. Patients will be enrolled automatically in their online PHR simply by registering for an appointment with their providers since the iHealth service replaces the medical clipboard for office registration.

"This is a key component of our ambitious eBusiness strategy," added Mau. "We realize that our members are taking a larger role in managing their own healthcare. iHealth is going to allow them to do that with around-the-clock convenience."

"The physician-patient relationship has proven to be the key to engaging patients to use and value personal health records," said Edward Fotsch, M.D., CEO of Medem Inc., which provides the iHealth service. "Physicians have the access and credibility that motivates patients to enroll and participate in PHRs. Health plans have data and online care tools. The payer-provider partnership to engage patients in PHRs is the winning combination."

Medical Mutual members will have access to their PHR by logging on to the My Health Plan portal on the company's Web site, http://www.medmutual.com/, or, if available, through the Web site of their doctor. To provide even more flexibility, members will also be able to access iHealth through the iHealth Web site at http://www.ihealthrecord.com/.

"The important thing to remember is that our members own their own personal health records," said Mau. "These records will be available to them even if they change their doctor, or health insurance company."

  Medical Mutual will begin using iHealth this Fall.

  About Medical Mutual of Ohio

Founded in 1934, Medical Mutual of Ohio is the oldest and largest health insurance company based in Ohio. The company serves its customers through high-quality, affordable group and personal health insurance plans, and third- party administrative services to self-insured group customers. Based in Cleveland, Medical Mutual also has offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton and Youngstown. For more information, visit the company's award-winning Web site at http://www.medmutual.com/.

About iHealth and Medem, Inc.

Medem's iHealth service offers the healthcare industry a suite of integrated Web-based services that are proven to effectively engage patients in better managing their health. This comprehensive patient communication suite can be used by ALL stakeholders in healthcare--patients, their doctors, hospitals/health systems, health plans, pharmacists, employers, allied health professionals and caregivers. But the data remain under the patient's control and can only be viewed with their permission. iHealth includes the leading online standards-based, secure Personal Health Record (PHR) that is owned and controlled by the patient, can share data with EHR, health plan, pharmacy and other systems and is a secure vehicle for patients to utilize in sharing information and communicating online with their healthcare providers. iHealth also includes an online registration process that eliminates the medical clipboard for office or hospital registration and improves the quality of information across the continuum of care. Additional services include the ability to deliver patient-specific education and care management programs an integrated Health Risk Assessment and automated FDA warnings specific to the patient's medications. Founded by the American Medical Association and several national medical specialty societies, Medem is supported by a broad constituent of industry partners, 45 leading medical societies, patient advocacy groups and government agencies. To learn more about Medem, visit http://www.medem.com/ .