Minnesota grants MEDecision PHR tech contract

Healthcare management company MEDecision has been awarded a contract by the state of Minnesota to provide the technology for a personal health record (PHR) program being developed for state employees and their dependents.

The initiative is designed to give state workers and their families an additional tool to manage their health and help control medical costs, according to MEDecision, of Wayne, Pa.

The PHR program will rely on MEDecision’s InFrame health information exchange and Nexalign healthcare decision support tools to locate and compile existing medical claims data from state employees’ and their dependents’ health insurers, the company stated. The system will also gather information available from other healthcare sources, including pharmacies, labs, clinics, dental records and doctors’ offices.

Currently in the implementation phase with a launch date targeted for this fall, the PHR program is strictly voluntary, according to MEDecision. The state will not have any access to the PHR system or to employees’ private health information at any time.

State employees must choose to enroll in the PHR program and submit authorization for their medical information to be utilized, the company said.

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