The personal health record: consumers banking on their health.

With personal health records (PHRs) acting much like ATM cards, increasingly wired consumers can "bank on health", accessing their own personal health information and a wide array of services. Consumer-owned, the PHR is dependent upon the existence of the legal electronic medical record (EMR) and interoperability. Working PHRs are in place in Veterans Health Administration, private health care institutions, and in the commercial sector.

HCA Inc.: standardization in action.

Ongoing government and healthcare industry initiatives clearly indicate that information technology will be the driver for change in healthcare. As systems proliferate, healthcare organizations grapple with issues of whether to choose best-of-breed systems or standardize around one vendor. For many years, HCA Inc.