First Data Corporation and iHealth Deliver Global Personal Health Services and Healthcare Debit Card

First Data Healthcare Services, part of First Data Corp. 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.”

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.