• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

LSU Healthcare Network Delivers Online Physician-Patient Communication and Personal Health Records to Louisianans

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 06:00 CDT

NEW ORLEANS and SAN FRANCISCO, April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- LSU Healthcare Network (LHN) is launching iHealth, the leading online physician-patient communication service that includes a transportable and secure online personal health record for all area residents. iHealth, the first of its kind service launched in the New Orleans area, will directly engage patients with online access to their LHN physician's office and a secure, online health record that empowers patients and protects them in emergencies.

"In light of the tragic events of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we are committed to offering this important new service to our community," stated Dr. Frank Opelka, CEO. "We keep electronic records for other areas of importance in our lives, such as finance and home affairs. A secure online personal health record, that is accessible anytime, anywhere, is critical to saving lives in an emergency, and can be an incredibly valuable resource for patients on a regular basis with chronic conditions as they move across the continuum of care. We hope other employers in the New Orleans area will join us in supporting online physician-patient communication and transportable personal health record services for their employees."

"The physician-patient relationship has proven to be the key to success in moving patients to use personal health records," added Edward Fotsch, MD, CEO of Medem Inc, which provides the iHealth service. "Physicians have access and credibility with patients that motivate them to enroll in PHRs and participate. The information in the PHRs can then be kept even more accurate with data feeds from EMRs, health plans and other sources. But the key to PHR success is patient and physician participation. We are pleased to work with LSU to promote PHRs and online patient-physician communication. The President has called for online electronic records for all Americans by 2014. Thanks to LSU, things are ahead of schedule in New Orleans."

LSU Healthcare Network will launch the iHealth suite of services in late spring 2007, to provide area patients and consumers with a secure online personal health record, and the ability to share this record with their doctors, family members, or for access in case of emergency. The patient has 100% control over who has access to the information in the iHealthRecord, and may choose to add other important sources of information such as the LSU Healthcare Network physicians' TouchWorks(TM) Electronic Health Record from Allscripts (MDRX). The service also includes patient-physician secure e-mail with the practice, same-day notification to patients of FDA medication warnings and recalls and automated education programs that are specific to the patient's conditions and medications.

About LSU Healthcare Network

LSU Healthcare Network is a team of over 400 physicians and 130 employees providing leading edge health services throughout Southeast Louisiana for nearly 10 years. Their mission is to provide patients with the highest quality, comprehensive medical care through a compassionate, professional and patient-focused healthcare team that is committed to academic excellence. LSU Healthcare Network's physicians were among the first to return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and continue to play an integral role in rebuilding the healthcare delivery system in the region. The physicians and staff continue to lead the rebirth of healthcare in New Orleans.

About Medem and iHealth

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 physician-patient communication suite can be used by ALL stakeholders in healthcare -- patients, their doctors, hospitals/health systems, health plans, employers, allied health professionals and caregivers. 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 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 and FDA warnings to patients on the iHealth Network with integrated Health Risk Assessment tools. Founded by the American Medical Association and several national medical specialty societies, Medem is supported by a broad constituent of industry partners, 45 medical societies, patient advocacy groups and government agencies. To learn more about Medem, visit http://www.medem.com/ .

iHealth

CONTACT: Jason M. Doiron of LSU Healthcare Network, +1-504-412-1861,hnmediarelations@lsuhsc.edu; or Jason Best of IHealthRecord/Medem Inc,+1-415-644-3909, jason.best@medem.com

Web site: http://www.medem.com/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category