Insurer Offering Health Records on Cell Phones

By Matt Hamblen

June 30, 2008 12:00 PM ET

Comments

(0)

Top Stories

Computerworld - This version of the story originally appeared in Computerworld's print edition.

Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania is betting that its customers will want to keep complex personal health records on their cell phones, especially when they have to keep track of multiple doctors and medications.

The health insurer last month began rolling out a mobile application developed by AllOne Health Group Inc., a health care systems integrator, and Diversinet Corp., a maker of tools to activate and download mobile applications.

Drew Palin, chief development officer at the Blue Cross affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., said that so far, less than 10% of the 600,000 eligible users have tried the application, which is free to members.

Palin said he understands that users might have questions about the applications' privacy, but he contended that the benefits of the system outweigh the risks. And Blue Cross shares those concerns, he added, noting that the data in the system is encrypted and dual-factor authentication techniques are used to control access to that data.

Most of those who have used the mobile system so far are typical early adopters who are open to new technologies and have come to terms with the issue of privacy, said Palin.

Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group, said that despite concerns about personal privacy, "all information will eventually be online and mobile."

Comment Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Jump to comments

health care

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER

Do You Know the 7 Steps to Successful Data Migration?

Approximately 60 percent of data migration projects overrun time or budget, while some fail completely. Download this white paper, "Enhancing Your Chance for Successful Data Migration," to learn the critical steps you need to take to execute a data migration project with minimum cost and risk to your business.

WHITE PAPER

Total Cost of Ownership of Server Computing Vs. PCs

Read the Gartner research note to learn why the TCO of a server-based computing deployment used to deliver all applications to users is around 50% lower than that of an unmanaged desktop deployment.

WHITE PAPER

IDC White Paper: Linux in a Global Recession

Economic downturns have a tendency to accelerate emerging technologies, boost the adoption of effective solutions, and punish solutions that are not cost competitive or that are out of synch with industry trends. This IDC White Paper presents the results of an IDC survey of 330 companies in Western Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas that measures the receptiveness to Linux and takes into consideration changing views driven by the disruptive economic environment that businesses face today.