In an attempt to make its personal health records more interactive, Aetna announced last month the launch of Smart Source, a personalized search engine from which members can access medical information specific to their conditions and demographics.

While Aetna claims the system is a way to help its members make more informed decisions regarding their health, others fear insurer-run systems could create a way for health information to be used against members and physicians.

Aetna partnered with Healthline, a health information technology company based in San Francisco, to make searches through SmartSource relevant to each user's profile. The system takes into account the user's gender, age, ZIP code, health plan and employer in addition to information stored in the PHR to produce search results specific to that user.

Information includes basic health educational materials, commonly used medications and treatments for specific conditions, estimated health care costs, doctors in specific plans and information on Aetna programs that the member might be eligible for.

PHRs recently released by Microsoft and Google also allow users to link their records with relevant Web-based research. Those two systems allow the patient to control who can add to or view their records.

Edward L. Langston, MD, chair of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees, said while the AMA believes PHRs are "an important service" for patients, "[W]e are concerned that granting access to PHRs to a health insurer may have harmful implications for both patients and physicians.

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Last Modified: Monday, March 31st, 2008 @ 23:45

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