Wal-Mart Launches E-Health Program

Have you ever gone to the doctor and been told to fill out tedious health related forms?  Well, a non-profit enterprise called Dossia has a brilliant solution.  Backed by major corporations like AT&T, Intel, and most importantly Wal-Mart, Dossia is an “employee-driven, digital health records initiative, to help contain health-care costs.”  At the beginning of the year 2009, Wal-Mart employees will no longer have to agonize over searching for their health information upon every doctor’s visit.  Rather, their information will be stored in the company database and accessible by the employee at any time.  With an unstable economy at hand, retailers are looking for any way to cut their costs.  Studies show that 3,000 US corporations’ health-related costs are up nearly 6%; Dossia could not come at a better time! 

Linda M. Dillman, executive vice-president for benefits and risk management for Wal-Mart, stated that these digital records would result in “healthier associates who are more productive.”  The digital records of an employee that the newly designed technology provided by Dossia stores are more accurate and descriptive than the hurried descriptions usually written on doctors’ office forms.  These records will attempt to eliminate the possibility that a patient leaves out any vital information necessary for a doctor to give a proper diagnosis.  This reduction of error on the forms prevents further, more expensive doctors visits down the road and, in turn, keeps the corporations insurance costs to a minimum. 

            Some people argue that it would be unsafe to put all of one’s health related information on one system and that there is a threat that the information could get out.  However, Dossia guarantees patient privacy through the E-health software.  This software retrieves information from the databases of the participating pharmacies and insurers of the employee, then safely stores it in password-protected digital files that only the employee has access to.  This eliminates any risk of an outside party gaining access to the individuals’ personal records while making health care more efficient.  A representative from one of the pioneer corporations in this technological endeavor has stated that the software’s protections derive from “secure systems similar to those used to store bank information.” 

            I think this new development in health related technology will do nothing but benefit the community at large.  Employees will no longer have to spend time filling out forms and/or worry about whether or not vital health information was left out.  The new healthcare information database will also be useful in situations of emergency when a patient is unable to voluntarily give their information and medical history to the attending physicians.  Dossia has provided the world with an E-health system that will alleviate some of the current high costs to corporations while providing more efficient health care to its employees.