Recently, CapMed, one of the oldest PHR vendors in the market was sold by parent, Bio-Imaging Technologies to Metavante Technologies for $500K. Obviously a firesale.
While Bio-Imaging seemed like an odd company to be in the PHR market, really don’t see the synergies at Metavante either. Apparently not a very big deal to Metavante either as announcement of the acquisition did not even reach their thresehold to issue a press release.
Good luck trying to get noticed for anything other than AI or cybersecurity HIMSS24 was the first HIMSS national conference that I will have missed since I first attended in 2012. It felt weird not to be there with all my friends and colleagues, and I certainly missed...
In this Chilcast episode, John Moore sits down with Deepak Sadagopan, COO of Population Health at Providence and CEO of the Providence Medicare ACO, Health Connect Partners, to discuss the strategic imperatives for healthcare executives navigating the transition to value-based care (VBC).
Workforce / capacity issues and AI – and where the two meet – are still the two biggest topics on clinical executives’ minds right now at both ViVE 2024 and HAS24. Probably the first time I’ve seen the same primary focus two years in a row – historically we’ve always seen a new buzzword / hype topic every year…
PHR is a feature. Not a solution… LOTS of companies like that. And the consolidation continues…
Healthcare Empowerment Solutions
Drive Consumer Directed Healthcare (CDH) adoption with powerful decision support tools,
“http://www.metavante.com/mvnt/corp/whyicamehere?p=20661”
John – this might be where they plug in the PHR utility,
Alex,
Not so sure many of the PHR solution vendors would agree with your statement, for if indeed one were to perceive PHRs as simply a feature, than who is not to say that an EMR is nothing but a feature as well.
G,
Thanks for the link – certainly “connects the dots” as to where CapMed will go in Metavante – their existing CDHP portfolio that they sell to both employers, insurers and to a lesser extent, financial institutions.
With the acq, Metavante joins United Health Group as one of the few that has a PHR tightly linked to an HSA.
Hi John,
Thanks for the observation/comment. Agreed, but doesn’t change the fact that a PHR/EHR/PM/Registry/EMR/Rx/etc are all features a physician (in ambulatory care) MAY need to treat patients and document/deliver high quality care in today’s changing practice/compensation environment. None are the silver bullet, yet we focus INTENTLY on EMRs as the pathway to nirvana and “add-on” other “products” to meet ever changing needs at an ever higher cost/complexity to support and manage.
I believe the myopic focus on putting EMRs in every practice wastes time, energy and precious resources our country no longer has.
Perhaps a better approach would be to define what one TRULY needs to practice in today’s environment. I believe:
1. I need to be able to schedule appointments (feature)
2. I need to be able to use an HRA and have it tied to my record (feature)
3. I need to be able to record that something happened in an office visit for the chart and billing (features)
4. I need to be able to write prescription simply (feature)
5. It MIGHT be nice to let my patients self-schedule, pay, communicate with me or my staff (feature)
6. It MIGHT be nice to have access to a PHR to help automate new patients or support the “medical home” concept, but not very many of my patients have any interest in maintaining their own PHRs (feature)
7. I need to ensure I am following guidelines in delivering care (feature)
8. I need to track/report key quality-oriented metrics to support PQRI/P4P/Bridges-to-Excellence programs (feature)
9. I want to be able to reach out to those patients who have missed appointments or labs/exams required as part of their treatment program (or at least show that I tried) — (feature).
Anyways, smarter people than me have articulated the idea far more succinctly, but I still stand by my notion that PHRs (like most segments of the industry) are merely features of what many physicians need/want.
Until industry creates simple, effective and affordable SOLUTIONS incorporating all or some of these elements, I do not see Health IT adoption improving in the US.
Why would a doctor mortgage their house, postpone their child’s college education, etc. just so they can say they have a CCIT certified EMR, a pile of hardware and a new IT employee on staff to support it all? I don’t know either, but I talk to them EVERY day. I simply cannot imagine why ANY primary care provider would spend money on Epic or any other legacy EMR vendor at this point in time…
I really appreciate this blog and the comments everyone puts forth! THANKS!
Thanks Alex for the lengthy comment you posted where you raise many a valid question – particularly from the perspective of a practicing physician.
And maybe that is where we diverge, at least with regards to PHRs (no, won’t go down the trail as to what is a feature).
The perspective you give of a PHR implies that it is primarily for the physician’s benefit. This is a view where I am on the exact opposite pole from you. A PHR (and no, I do not like that acronym as it is too much like EMR and thus physician centric), is a tool that a consumer can use to better track their health & wellness or the health & wellness of a loved one. That definition can be viewed as quite expansive, from folding in a Weight Watchers acct to physical activity recorded in my Garmin when I go for a ride, to the meds I need to take (maybe even have an SMS alert feature), and the list goes on and on.
Yes, a PHR can also be used to facilitate care and interaction with the medical establishment, but we really need to begiin to think beyond that myopic viewpoint as only then will we start seeing more value being delivered to a broader cross-section of the public and subsequently, greater adoption and use.
And thank you Alex again for taking the time to comment – and that goes to all who comment as it adds far greater richness than the views of one.
Hi John,
TOTALLY agree with you as to the potential of a PHR to help patients become more engaged in the easiest, most effective and respectful fashion possible. There is definitely a lot of potential to close the “feedback loop” using PHRs particularly for those well-educated, concious and active patients.
I live in a socio-econonimcally distressed area in the upper midwest (ghetto), and the vast majority of my neighbors MIGHT have a high school education, many are hard working people just trying to get by/enjoy their lives and unfortunately, most also use the ER as their primary care doctor. Typically they have NO idea what meds they are taking for which condition, and it goes on and on.
My point is, I think we need to be concious (as I know there are many folks who are) about socio-economic barriers to PHR adoption and patient interaction and how valuable these tools will be outside of the more profitable/educated upper/middle class. One piece of technology ubiquitous amongst my neighbors: a cell phone. Unfortunately, many use the pay-as-you-go services (Cricket, etc) and often have to change numbers/phones when bills haven’t been paid…
Thanks again!
I have been using CapMed Personal Health Record software on my home PC. I have used it for several years and have entered extensive information into the DB. I have recently purchased a Vista Laptop and cannot get CapMed PHR to run.
Apparently CapMed is no longer in existence and I would like to know if anyone can help me get this software working on Vista?
I would appreciate any commets, suggestions, etc.
Thank You
Sandie
Thanks for your comments Sandie and sorry you are having troubles. CapMed is indeed still around, though under the new name of FIS following our acquisition. Please do get in touch with us, we are happy to assist you. Support technicians can be reached at 888-852-9131 or phr.support@metavante.com.
All the best,
Mary Ellen Zipper RN
Program Manager, FIS Healthcare Solutions
Hi Sandie
I was able to get it to run, but it seems like it crashed a lot under Vista. I am running it on Win Xp, though Parallels on a mac. Try this.
Go to:
My Computer than find you CD Rom Drive “maybe ‘D’ drive than you will right click and click open. Look for setup.exe or install.exe ( don’t remember which one) and double click on it to start the install. Seems like it took a bit to run.
If it start the setup when you insert the disc, close it first though.
Hope this helps. Good Luck
Gary
I can’t remember if it crashed under Vista or Win 7 pre release.
Hi John and all,
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on CapMed post-acquisition. While the CapMed name is no longer in existence, CapMed’s Personal Health Record products are alive and well under the name FIS (NYSE:FIS) following CapMed’s acquisition (CapMed was acquired by Metavante Corporation who was then acquired by FIS). FIS is a leading provider of banking and payments technology, delivering solutions to more than 14,000 financial institutions and businesses in more than 90 countries worldwide. The Healthcare Division of FIS is a high growth business line and to date a significant investment has been made in this Division to support the healthcare solutions initiative. Company leaders recognize that the impact of Consumer Directed Healthcare and Electronic Data Interchange in healthcare reflected game-changing trends, requiring tailored versions of FIS’s core competencies specific to healthcare. FIS acquired CapMed in January 2009 to further streamline the healthcare experience for our partners and their end-users. The integration of a PHR into FIS’s Healthcare Payment Solutions portfolio creates a truly comprehensive CDH solution set that combines health and wealth management. By making both health and health expense data readily accessible to consumers, FIS empowers our community of users to take a more active role in their health care.
CapMed’s onlinePHR is now called HealthManager. Key attributes of the HealthManager solution include:
• Personalized: User dictates content and controls online access granted to caregivers
• Interoperable: Integrate with key data sources, including claims info received directly from payers, transactional feeds from tax-sheltered CDH benefit accounts, electronic medical record data, medication history, lab results and home monitoring systems
• Problem Oriented: Users can track prescriptions and other diagnostic info related to a particular medical condition, research clinical decision-support tools, and set alerts and reminders for health/disease management
• Anytime, Anywhere: Can be deployed online, mobile phone, USB Flash drive and on desktop computer platforms
• Customizable: Brandable to match plan administrators’ look and feel
Support for CapMed products continues to be available. Support technicians can be reached at 888-852-9131 or phr.support@metavante.com.
More about FIS
FIS provides financial institution core processing, and card issuer and transaction processing services, including the NYCE Network. FIS maintains processing and technology relationships with 40 of the top 50 global banks, including nine of the top 10. FIS Healthcare Payment Solutions is one of the leaders in transforming the healthcare payments industry by accelerating the exchange of information and funds between patients, payers, providers and financial institutions. Forging new connections between payment and data systems to quicken the claims process, FIS expedites benefits eligibility verification, claims substantiation, medical remittance processing, and payment and explanation of benefit distribution. With Web-enabled tools, an HSA platform, multi-purse benefit debit cards and combo eligibility/payment cards, FIS enables integrated consumer benefit account management of HSA, FSA, HRA, and dependent care and transportation accounts. FIS is a member of Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500® Index and consistently holds a leading ranking in the annual FinTech 100 rankings. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FIS is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the “FIS” ticker symbol. For more information about FIS see http://www.fisglobal.com. For more information about FIS Healthcare Payment Solutions see http://www.fisglobal.com/healthcare.
Many thanks again for the opportunity!
Mary Ellen Zipper RN
Program Manager, FIS Healthcare Solutions