First Data Corporation and iHealth Deliver Global Personal Health Services and Healthcare Debit Card
May 08 2006 - 11:40AM
PR Newswire (US)
New Service Combines PHR, Real-time Eligibility and HSA/FSA Debit
Card SAN FRANCISCO, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- First Data Healthcare
Services, part of First Data Corp. (NYSE:FDC) and Medem Inc. today
announced a new personal health service and card that combines the
industry-leading iHealth personal health record with all payer
health plan eligibility verification and a healthcare debit card.
The new service and card delivers anywhere, anytime access to the
patient's record, the health plan information and medical savings
accounts. Existing services for consumers have offered access to
one of these three. However, the new combined service and
iHealthCard offers the power and convenience of integrated access
to all three. "Accurate and timely access to clinical,
administrative and financial information represents a tremendous
challenge and expense for doctors, patients, employers, health
plans and others in the healthcare industry," noted Beverly
Kennedy, president, First Data Healthcare Services. "First Data and
Medem bring these elements of healthcare together in a simple and
integrated online service and card." For employers, TPAs and health
plans the new iHealthCard allows them to provide a single card to
consumers that help them better manage their care. "The growing
interest in Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings
Accounts (HSA) accounts combined with the opportunity that personal
health records represent in better engaging consumers in their own
care makes this integrated service and iHealthCard a logical and
important new tool to improve consumer convenience," stated Rob
Butler, Vice President of PayFlex, a leading provider of HSA and
FSA administration services as well as a participant of the
integrated service and iHealthCard. For physicians, hospitals,
clinics and other providers the iHealthCard allows them to
distribute a branded personal health card to patients that links to
their iHealth Personal Health Record (PHR) and allows for automated
eligibility when the patient is seen at their facilities or
offices. "The iHealthRecord eliminates the need for the medical
clipboard while the iHealthCard eliminates calls from providers to
check health plan eligibility," explained Kelly Victory, MD Chief
Medical Officer of Whole Health Management, a provider of clinic
and wellness services for multiple national employers. "The
patients and employers who we serve find the iHealthCard and
integrated online PHR and patient-provider communication unique and
powerful. The integration of iHealth into the Allscripts TouchWorks
EHR that we utilize in our clinics certainly adds to the value."
(Allscripts, Nasdaq: MDRX) The integrated service and iHealthCard
are also in sync with the federal government's efforts to improve
healthcare quality and efficiency by better utilizing information
technology and personal health records (PHRs.) Secretary Leavitt,
the AHIC Committee and CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services) all have PHR initiatives under way including a recent RFP
issued by CMS related to PHRs for Medicare beneficiaries. The
common theme in these efforts is consumer empowerment, improved
efficiency and elimination of the medical clipboard as the primary
means for exchanging patient information. The integrated First Data
service and iHealthCards implement this vision while empowering the
consumers that they serve. About iHealth Services iHealth services
are provided to consumers via the Internet from a hospital or
physician practice web site or other professional source, and
include secure personal health records, patient-provider email and
automated and customized patient education with clinical content
and support from US Medical Societies, government agencies and
other national healthcare institutions. The iHealthRecord
integrates with other important sources of information including
insurance data and physician or hospital electronic medical records
to assist patients in keeping their health record current. The
consumer controls access to iHealthRecords. About Medem, Inc. Medem
established the nation's first secure, interactive online personal
health record, the iHealthRecord. Based in San Francisco, Medem was
incorporated in 1999 and was founded by a group of the nation's
leading medical societies, including: the American Academy of
Ophthalmology; the American Academy of Pediatrics; the American
College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology; the American College of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists; the American Medical Association;
the American Psychiatric Association; and the American Society of
Plastic Surgeons. There are currently 48 societies partnering with
Medem whose combined membership represents more than two- thirds of
physicians practicing in the United States. For more information,
please visit http://www.medem.com/ or
http://www.ihealthrecord.org/. About First Data Corp First Data
Healthcare Services offers a multipurpose card that provides access
to HSA, HRA and FSA accounts and line of credit, along with
eligibility, benefit and claims data, through a powerful
point-of-care network. First Data Corp. (NYSE:FDC) is a leading
provider of electronic commerce and payment solutions for
businesses and consumers worldwide. Serving 4.6 million merchant
locations, 1,600 card issuers and millions of consumers, First Data
powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for
people and businesses around the world to buy goods and services
using virtually any form of payment. The company's portfolio of
services and solutions includes credit, debit, private-label, gift
and other prepaid card issuing and merchant transaction processing
services; money transfer services; money orders; fraud protection
and authentication solutions; check guarantee and verification
services through TeleCheck; as well as Internet commerce and mobile
solutions. Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta together make up
one of the world's largest money transfer networks with
approximately 274,000 Agent locations in more than 200 countries
and territories. The company's STAR Network offers PIN-secured
debit acceptance at 1.9 million ATM and retail locations. For more
information, visit http://www.firstdata.com/. About PayFlex PayFlex
(http://www.payflex.com/) is a leading nationwide provider of
healthcare spending account administration with nearly 20 years of
experience. PayFlex provides a broad range of services to nearly
2,000 employers including many Fortune 500 companies that employ
several millions of employees. PayFlex has distinguished itself in
the benefit administration market by offering unmatched customer
service; exceptionally fast claim turnaround time and a commitment
to be easy to work with. PayFlex services include FSA, HRA, HSA,
Transit and Dependent Care, along with COBRA. PayFlex is
headquartered in Omaha, Neb., with offices in Chicago and now
Littleton, Colo. For more information, please call Rob Butler at
630 325 6953. About Whole Health Management Whole Health Management
is a leading operator of on-site corporate health and wellness
centers in the United States. Since 1981, Whole Health has provided
integrated urgent, preventive and primary care, occupational
health, physical therapy, health risk and disease management,
employee assistance counseling, wellness coaching and fitness
services. Whole Health clinics offer exceptional savings to
industry through increased productivity, reduced employee downtime
and pharmacy costs, as well as lower operating costs. Furthermore,
these clinics represent an employee benefit, helping increase
morale and aid in staff retention. Whole Health clients generally
recover their investment within 12 to 24 months. Whole Health
services benefits more than 25 organizations including many large
corporations and Fortune 500 companies throughout the United
States. Whole Health associates serve more than 300,000 employees,
and in some cases, their spouses and dependents, at nearly 70
on-site health and fitness centers. For more information about
Whole Health Management's services, go to
http://www.wholehealthnet.com/. About Allscripts: Allscripts is the
leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information
solutions that physicians use to improve healthcare. The Company's
business groups provide unique solutions that inform, connect and
transform healthcare. The Clinical Solutions Group's award-winning
software applications include electronic health record, practice
management, e-prescribing, document imaging, emergency department
and care management solutions. Additionally, Allscripts provides
clinical product education and connectivity solutions for
physicians and patients through its Physicians Interactive(TM)
Group and medication fulfillment services through its Medication
Services Group. To learn more, visit Allscripts on the Web at
http://www.allscripts.com/. DATASOURCE: Medem Inc. CONTACT: Donna
Pennington of First Data, +1-402-222-6178 or ; Jason Best of
iHealthRecord/Medem, +1-415-644-3909, +1-415-644-3930 or ; or Rob
Butler of PayFlex, +1-630-325-6953 or Web site:
http://www.medem.com/
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