The individual health record UnitedHealth plans to offer its members and providers already has been tested at three ACOs, CEO David Wichmann told the company's investor conference Nov. 27, according to Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Here are six things to know:
1. UnitedHealth first revealed a plan in late 2016 to offer members an individual health record, but the insurer had no details about the effort at the time.
2. On its third-quarter conference call in October, UnitedHealth executives said the company would debut the individual health record in 2019. The tool will serve 50 million health plan members, and about 1 million healthcare providers will be able to access it by the end of 2019, according to Forbes.
3. The individual health record has been tested at three ACOs, and may have helped save two lives, Mr. Wichmann told the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
4. The tool will be able to connect with the EMRs hospitals use and will be portable, officials reportedly said.
5. UnitedHealth eventually will offer the tool to other health insurers.
6. "It's something we designed because we think it can structurally change health outcomes," Mr. Wichmann said, according to Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.