Wal-Mart Launches E-Health Program

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That is one reason Dossia and its participating members decided to automate the data-entry processes. The less time employees spend collecting and uploading digital records, the less risk that private information will spill into the public arena, Dossia executives say. Evans, who is also director of policy and standards for Intel's digital health group, says the software's protections derive from "secure systems similar to those used to store bank information," developed in part by Intel.

Dossia hasn't been free from controversy. When it was announced two years ago, some commentators suggested it was Orwellian in its stealthy, centralized approach. Evans shrugs off such criticism, insisting its controlled system assures the records are for patients' eyes only. What's more, the strategy reduces the likelihood Dossia will run afoul of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), which bars doctors and hospitals from revealing private medical information to third parties. Since physicians do not handle the digital data in Dossia files, the program is HIPAA-compliant, the company contends.

Nevertheless, some physicians have expressed concerns about Dossia's system. One of the critics is Dr. Mike Magee, a senior fellow in health policy at the Center for Aging Services Technologies in Washington, D.C. He worries that information critical to a patient's care can get dangerously sequestered in a data "silo" if it is "owned by employers, health systems, and health vendors."

The bigger concern for many physicians is that, somewhere down the line, doctors will be asked to make major investments in information technology such as new software or additional computers and staff. If one goal of e-health is cost savings, they argue, the doctor's own costs should also figure into the equation.

Business Exchange related topics:
Wal-Mart
Employee Benefits
Electronic Health Records
Health 2.0

Jana is the Innovation Dept. editor for BusinessWeek.