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Despite the wide availability of personal health records (PHRs) from federal health plans, few federal employees actually use them, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said in an annual report published Feb. 5.
In 2009, 86 percent of health plans made PHRs available for their federal members, compared with 75 percent in 2008 and 51 percent in 2007, OPM said in its report.
The majority of federal health plans report that less than 5 percent of federal members used their PHRs for one or more sessions. Only 19 percent of health plans reported that they had usage rates of more than 5 percent, according to OPM's report.
Additionally, "there remains a lack of market acceptance of a common PHR definition, data content and portability standards," the report said.
However, most federal health plans, or 86 percent, have taken steps to educate their members about the value of health IT through information they post on plan Web sites, newsletters mailed to members, open enrollment meetings and member education materials.
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