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BROOMFIELD, CO – An electronic health card designed to maintain an individual's personal health record and provide a payment card option that can access an individual's HSA, FSA or HRA account was launched during the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's annual conference last month.
The Personal Health Card, developed by Broomfield, Colo.-based LifeNexus, is imbedded with the company's Individually Controlled Health Information Platform (iChip) technology, which uses "mobile server" technology that is both encrypted and password-protected. The card is designed to assure the protection of identity and privacy as well as help reduce fraud, officials said.
LifeNexus gave out 1,000 cards to attendees at the show, which took place Feb. 20-24 in Orlando, Fla.
"The card makes vital information available to healthcare providers in times of an emergency, enabling rapid admission and improved care," said Christopher Maus, the company's CEO.
Officials said the card is designed to put patients at the center of their health information. It stores comprehensive health information for individuals and their family members, including demographic data, emergency contacts and insurance information, along with medical records, which include medical history, immunizations, allergies and prescriptions.
LifeNexus officials said they worked for more than three years on the project with key stakeholders across multiple industries, including MasterCard Worldwide, Visa, VeriFone and Emdeon, a provider of healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions.
The Personal Health Card is designed for use as a payment card, allowing the holder to make general, day-to-day purchases, much like a MasterCard or Visa card. It can be offered by financial institutions with prepaid, debit or credit functionality.
The card can also be used to allow access to health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs).
"There is enormous value in an electronic health card for all parties involved in the continuity of care," said Howard Burde, a principal with Howard Burde Health Law, an advisory board member with HIMSS and author of "Personal Health Records," which is published by HIMSS. "It will help make electronic medical records viable and is a critical piece in the creation of a digital healthcare information exchange. Most importantly, it will help address the three biggest challenges in healthcare: lowering costs, improving patient outcomes and ensuring privacy."
Officials said the card enables users to keep sensitive information, rather than storing it on a Web-based server, and supports the adoption of electronic medical records by a physician.
"The advantage of the Personal Health Card is that the consumer is in control of the information, and a lot of the red tape is eliminated," said Boyd Lyles, Jr., MD, founding director of the Heart Health and Wellness Center in Dallas. "Even offices that have paper records can use the Personal Health Card to help them transition to electronic patient/physician records."
Company officials said the card complies with both the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and the security and privacy mandates under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
