Fed Health Plans Commit to Health IT

The Office of Personnel Management on Friday released a list of 45 health plans in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program that have made a commitment to health information technology through offering Internet-based personal health records and providing online tools for accessing health care quality, and price and cost information.

In its 2009 Health IT report, OPM noted that it has encouraged FEHB health benefits plans over the past few years to increase their use of health IT, which when "based on broadly accepted standards, allows patients, health care providers and health plans to share information securely, driving down costs by avoiding duplicate procedures and manual transactions," OPM said. "More importantly, HIT reduces medical errors."

The 45 health plans now allow participants and their family members access electronic personal health records, which provide a way to track, view and manage personal health information and share health information with health care providers. The health plans also have made available quality and price/cost information available, including providing online decision tools with cost estimators and quality indicators for physician and hospital services and prescription drugs, the report states.

OPM pledged to add other plans to the list as new plans bring health IT tools online.

You can find the full list of the 45 FEHBP providers on OPM's Web site. It may help federal employees make important health care decisions during the 2010 Open Season, which generally begins in November.