Software CEO: ‘There’s no viable model for RHIOs’

The CEO of a software company specializing in health-care data management told a world conference on interoperability that personal health record platforms are likely to be a more successful means for health data exchange than regional health information organizations(Source: “Healthcare leaders favor personal networks to RHIOs for data exchange,” Healthcare IT News, July 23, 2008).

R. Tim McNamar, the founder and CEO of e-certus Inc., giving the keynote address at the 3rd Annual Leadership Summit on the Road to Interoperability, said, “There’s no viable model for RHIOs.”

David Kibb, senior advisor to the American Academy of Family Physicians, said personal health record platforms such as Microsoft’s HealthVault and a similar product launched by Google are preferred because they allow consumers to take control of storing their own records rather relying on government or a quasi-governmental entity. “We can't expect government to build a network,” he said. “Government didn't build the Internet. Government didn't build PCs."