Palm, Inc. and Tolven Inc. today announced the availability of open source electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR) solutions on Palm(R) Treo(TM) smartphones. The Tolven ePHR, an intuitive web-based application, lets users create, view, store and share extensive healthcare information, including medical history, medication lists, doctor's orders, laboratory results and immunization records - or simply monitor and capture blood glucose levels in the privacy of their homes. With Treo smartphones, patients, their families and clinicians can securely connect to health records via the Internet virtually anywhere.
"Imagine visiting your doctor's office and not having to complete any forms when all of the information needed is already available and can be shared proactively with your care provider via your Treo smartphone," said Neil Cowles, chief executive officer for Tolven. "Putting this information securely in the hands of consumers encourages them to become more engaged in their care management. For healthcare providers, whether an office-based physician or nurse or the paramedic in the field, this solution promises to help avoid unnecessary risks and delays in treatment."
Innovations in the delivery of healthcare information technology solutions, such as offering open source ePHR on mobile devices, pave the way for improvements in clinical outcomes and reductions in the cost of healthcare delivery. With ePHR, users securely collate information from a number of sources, including self-entered data and records provided by participating care providers and payers. Patients have the authority to grant access to these records to emergency service providers, on behalf of themselves or those they look after (such as aged relatives, children and those with disabilities).
"Pairing the Treo smartphone with Tolven's ePHR solution lets consumers interact with their health records for alerts, reminders and clinical data recording on the go, rather than logging onto a personal computer," said Gail Moody-Byrd, director of healthcare marketing for Palm, Inc. "The mobility of the Treo smartphone, its ease of use and touch-screen design makes ePHR a far more dynamic tool for capturing vital health information, such as blood glucose levels and blood pressure."
The adoption of ePHRs has rapidly grown over the past few years. A recent study performed for the Markle Foundation found that two-thirds of the public (65 percent) is interested in accessing their own personal health information electronically. This finding is consistent with a number of initiatives around the world that are striving to meet consumer demand by spurring improvements in quality of care - Palm.
Posted February 28th, 2007 by Nymphadora
