Personal Health Records: ICW Participates in Medicare & Medicaid Request for Information

San Mateo, CA – The widespread adoption and use of Personal Health Records (PHRs) is one of the cornerstones in President Bush’s national healthcare IT strategy. To help achieve this goal, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) concerning its future use of and role in PHRs. The CMS is looking for ways to make their large store of health information more available and useful to their beneficiaries. San Mateo based InterComponentWare Inc. (ICW) is responding to this RFI.

ICW recommends the use of PHRs to leverage information stored within Medicare and Medicaid to improve the efficiency of preventive measures and the overall healthcare quality for its beneficiaries. Additional data transferred from monitoring devices or collected by the patient should be seamlessly integrated into the PHR. To take full advantage of the potential of PHRs, specific modules for fitness, nutrition as well as disease specific data (e.g., diabetes, types of cancer) add additional value. Based on its international experience, the company will also stress the necessity of an open-platform approach to PHRs with standardized open interfaces that can ease implementation into existing healthcare IT systems. ICW is committed to working together with providers and vendors delivering interoperable health information systems across connected healthcare communities.

InterComponentWare Inc. is a rapidly expanding subsidiary of the German InterComponentWare AG who is a pioneer in the PHR field: In 1998, it was one of the first companies to develop a web-based PHR and has since expanded its state-of-the-art technology into international markets. The company is also actively involved in national health card projects in Austria and Germany. Thus, ICW has extensive experience, knowledge, and know-how integrating its PHR, LifeSensor, into existing healthcare IT-systems and offering true interoperability and connectivity between health information networks.


For more information please contact:
InterComponentWare AG
Dirk Schuhmann
Otto-Hahn-Straße 3
69190 Walldorf, Germany

Tel: ++49-(0)6227-385-133
Fax: ++49-(0)6227-385-199

E-Mail: dirk.schuhmann@icw-global.com

www.icw-global.com
www.LifeSensor.com


About InterComponentWare
InterComponentWare AG (ICW) is a leading international eHealth provider with office locations in Germany, the United States, Austria, and Bulgaria. ICW develops and markets components used to connect the various participants in the health care market. Among its key offers are the hardware connector branded Medical NTBA and the technologically leading personal health record LifeSensor. As part of the German government-consulting bIT4health consortium, ICW offers crucial consulting services for the introduction of the electronic health card (eHC). The company has also won a project for the eCard in Austria. ICW actively promotes the implementation of standards in healthcare by its participation in national and international initiatives for the installation of eHealth frameworks.