Microsoft's HealthVault is the latest entrant in the PHR arena

The computer giant is trying to push patients and doctors to use personal health records, which have not taken off quite as their advocates had hoped.

By Dave Hansen, AMNews staff. Oct. 22/29, 2007.

Microsoft has unveiled its new personal health record. But it's unclear whether the company's big name will help sell a technology that is little-used by patients, and greeted with a skeptical eye by physicians.

At an Oct. 4 news conference in Washington, Microsoft unveiled a product it calls HealthVault. It is the latest entry into the field of PHRs, which allow patients to build and maintain their own medical record.

Numerous insurers have offered PHRs to their members, while health Web sites such as Medem -- owned by various medical societies, including the AMA -- and WebMD have done the same. Google and Dossia -- a consortium of major employers -- are expected to make PHRs available soon.

The promise is that PHRs will allow patients to take more control of their health and provide more accurate data to physicians, particularly in emergency situations. Microsoft said its system will connect with doctors' electronic medical record systems, as well as upload data from blood pressure monitors and other devices.

As with many PHRs, physicians do not need special equipment to use HealthVault, said Steve Shihadeh, general manager of sales, marketing and solutions for Microsoft's Health Solutions Group. Instead, he said, they can access it with a personal computer straight from the Web.

Microsoft will make money by charging for advertising on the HealthVault site, said Microsoft spokesman Erik Denny. It will not charge companies to create interactive applications for HealthVault, he added. There are already 46 companies and groups working on applications with 16 products up and running, said Denny.