Arkansas Office of Health Information Technology Selects Get Real Health as the Patient Portal Development Vendor for State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE)

Little Rock, AR, July 30, 2013 -- The Arkansas Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) has partnered with Get Real Health and negotiated a new pricing model to provide Get Real Health’s award-winning patient portal and personal health record (PHR) to Arkansas healthcare providers that participate in the statewide health information exchange (HIE) known as SHARE (State Health Alliance for Records Exchange). The decision makes it easy for Arkansas healthcare organizations of all sizes to meet key patient engagement criteria for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program “Meaningful Use” Stage 2 mandates.

“SHARE is a leader in the arena of health information exchange and we are thrilled to be working with them to offer some exciting new Meaningful Use-ready products for Arkansas healthcare organizations of all sizes—from large hospitals to small rural clinics,” said Robin Wiener, Get Real Health president and founding partner. “This is truly a win-win-win—for the state of Arkansas, healthcare providers, and patients.”

As part of the national plan to reduce health care costs and improve the quality of health care, the federal government is encouraging adoption and meaningful use of health information technology. The U.S. Congress has appropriated $20 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds for Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program payments to qualified health care providers and hospitals that meet EHR “Meaningful Use” requirements.

Meaningful Use “Stage 2” standards require a high level of engagement with patients. Providers must allow their patients to view their personal health records on a secure website, download them to a computer, and transmit them to authorized third parties. Patients must also be able to receive personalized health information and exchange secure messages with their providers. Some have complained that smaller practices and clinics will find it difficult and expensive to implement what are known as the “view, download, transmit” requirements of Meaningful Use Stage 2.

That’s what makes the partnership between Get Real Health and SHARE so innovative. As the patient portal vendor for SHARE participants, Get Real Health will, for the first time, make their award-winning InstantPHR™ patient engagement platform available through an online self-service website called the InstantPHR™ Marketplace.

InstantPHR™ is typically targeted to organizations that require a minimum of 5,000 patient end-user licenses. However, with the new InstantPHR™ Marketplace model, SHARE participants who require between 500 and 5,000 licenses can use a new self-service website to quickly and cost-effectively purchase and configure a user-friendly and secure online portal that will give their patients the ability to view, download, and transmit their personal health information and thereby meet the patient engagement requirements of Meaningful Use Stage 2. This comprehensive service frees healthcare organizations from the burdens of provisioning and managing their patient portal website as all website hosting, management and maintenance is included in the annual subscription price. The system is currently being piloted and will be available for general use in September 2013.

Through Get Real Health’s InstantPHR™ Marketplace, all of the patient data that SHARE gathers from different Arkansas healthcare providers will be automatically available in providers’ own patient portals without any additional integration or development work. Larger organizations requiring 5,000 or more patient-user licenses can work with Get Real Health’s solution architects to purchase a more customized patient engagement and care management solution. These InstantPHR enterprise solutions allow for highly-tailored and specific use cases, truly custom branding and configuration, and integration with multiple third-party systems.

Ray Scott, state coordinator for health information technology, said this partnership will offer significant benefits to patients and healthcare providers throughout the state. “Get Real Health’s InstantPHR is a fantastic product that will significantly benefit Arkansas’s healthcare providers and patients. But even beyond that, we were impressed with how the Get Real Health team listened to the specific needs and concerns of our state and adapted their product and business model to fit exactly what was needed for Arkansas.”

InstantPHR™ Marketplace benefits providers by:

•     Offering a quick and cost-effective way to meet the patient-centric objectives of Meaningful Use
•     Freeing them from complicated IT and portal-development hassles
•     Increasing patient satisfaction
•     Enhancing care coordination

By using the InstantPHR™ Marketplace self-service, three-step enrollment site, providers get a branded portal in days, not months. The provider simply:

•     Chooses a package and URL
•     Uploads their logo and chooses a site design and color scheme
•     Enters credit card or bank account information to purchase the portal package

Patients benefit from Get Real Health’s InstantPHR™-powered portals, as well.

•     Easy & Secure Access: They have all of their critical health information in one place—important when traveling, during emergencies, when seeing a new provider, or when managing health information for family members.
•     Coordinated Care: A PHR helps doctors coordinate care with other providers, enhancing collaboration and clear communication between hospitals, specialists, and primary care physicians.
•     Efficiency: PHRs contain information that prevents unnecessary interventions, thus making healthcare delivery more efficient.
•     Accuracy: By managing their own PHR, patients can ensure that the information contained in it is accurate and up-to-date.
•     Better Health: PHR-enabled, highly engaged patients recover faster from surgery, are less likely to experience a medical error, and have fewer complications.

About Get Real Health
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, Get Real Health is an award-winning global health information technology pioneer specializing in patient engagement and connected care solutions. Get Real Health’s flagship product — InstantPHR™ — is an electronic toolbox for creating and customizing personal health applications. In addition to the InstantPHR™ platform, Get Real Health offers turn-key solutions and custom services for a wide range of healthcare organizations. Get Real Health has a diverse global customer base and strategic partnerships with industry leaders including Microsoft, Caradigm, and TELUS Health Solutions.

About Arkansas SHARE
The Arkansas State Health Alliance for Records Exchange (SHARE) is a statewide health information exchange (HIE) that allows primary health care providers, related health services professionals, and public health authorities to access and exchange with each other real-time, electronic patient information that is secure and protected by current federal and state privacy and security laws. Through its implementation and use, SHARE will reduce medical errors and duplicate testing, promote improved management of chronic diseases, and improve patient care coordination among unaffiliated health care providers.