PassportMD is an online personal health record service that gives people tools and resources to manage their family’s health records and related information.

They received top honors for the best personal health record last year at the TEPR trade show where user interfaces are analyzed.

Listen to Live interview of Steven Hacker, CEO of PassportMD recorded at the Microsoft Connected Health Conference, June 10-12, Bellevue, WA

Originally Focused on Seniors

“Because we were originally focused on seniors we developed a system that is really very simple, eloquent, intuitive and easy to use,” said Hacker, “That’s why Microsoft likes us.”

Hacker was asked his company’s strategy for growth, and how he’ll be integrating the Microsoft HealthVault solution into his company strategy.

“I see that integrating HealthVault into my strategy will benefit my company because I can offer to my customers applications that we don’t currently offer and also the added peace of mind that their data can be stored in two locations,” said Hacker, “like having an extra safety deposit box.”

“Patients and physicians use our services for free,” Hacker explained, “The way we make money is by providing services that we charge for when they use those services, like our Concierge Care.”

PassportMD offers a personal concierge service to collect records on behalf of users who don’t have the time, energy or wherewithal to input their records.

“Our concierges get those records, put them together, summarize them, extract the data from them and put that data automatically back into a continuity of care document and back into their health record.” Explained Hacker.

More Thorough Records Collection

It stands to reason that you can improve your chances of recording everything into a health record if you’re not relying solely on the patient to enter all the data, or for that matter on the patient’s recollection of all the doctors and medical services that might need to be uploaded.

“So you get a records release form from the patient, and you acquire that medical record on behalf of the patient, and then you store a copy of it on HealthVault?” inquired Alex Pujari, CEO of Space Hospitals, Ltd.

“That’s correct,” answered Hacker, “but we go a step further.  We store that copy but we then go through and actually sort, summarize and convert it to data working with large insurers to download claims data and apply the claims data against the health record data.

In addition to making the online health records storage process easier for the consumer they also provide more value to physicians.

For example, PassportMD will digitize an X-ray into a pack-viewer that the doctor has full control over.  “It’s what we call diagnostic quality,” said Hacker, “the doctor can rotate the films; threeD, fourD.”

Medicare, a PassportMD Client

“We also license our software and private-label it,” explained Hacker, “Medicare selected us for their software service; what they call their “Personal Health Record Pilot.”

Hacker spoke about PassportMD’s imminent release of a home monitoring device that relates to the concept of patient-centered medical home.

“It borders on telehealth applications and it’s a powerful device that differs from others in this space by the services that we wrap around it,” said Hacker, “In the same way that we provide more hands-on services around the idea of health record retrieval, storage and portability.”

Health Record Mobile

PassportMD has also launched the first ever health record mobile; an RV outfitted for a grass roots campaign as part of a Medicare pilot to create awareness of online health records in Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

“Passport MD spokesperson and best selling health and wellness author, Joan Lunden, who hosts Walgreen’s health corner every Sunday on TV is helping us with this road show.” Hacker said, “and we’re working with Microsoft on this project as well.”