Health 2.0, Software, Drugs

CVS Caremark, Microsoft Form Partnership To Help Consumers Track Their Health Data

Luke Timmerman 6/26/08

CVS Caremark, the nation’s largest provider of prescription drugs, is joining forces with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to help consumers keep better track of their health information, the companies said today in a statement.

The deal allows consumers to do things like download a full list of their prescriptions filled at a pharmacy or by mail order and save copies of health records, lab tests and other potentially sensitive materials. Readings from, say, blood pressure or blood sugar tests can also be uploaded so pharmacists or nurse practitioners can see them. The data will be stored in something Microsoft is calling HealthVault, named, no doubt, partly to allay fears that hackers or insurance companies will somehow get hold of the data.

“We believe that tools such as Microsoft HealthVault should better enable consumers to manage their health care information in an environment that is often fragmented and paper-based,” said Helena Foulkes, Senior Vice President, Health Services at CVS Caremark, in the statement.

Wade has been writing quite a bit about the movement to better connect consumers with health providers, including this piece last week about Redmond, WA-based Microsoft partnering with Boston-based American Well. That announcement came a month after Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center became one of the first two healthcare facilities to partner with Google Health, which is building a similar online health record storage system.

Investors weren’t thrilled by the news, at least today. Woonsocket, RI-based CVS Caremark (NYSE: CVS) dropped 2.2 percent to $40.10 at 12:36 p.m. Eastern time.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can email him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or call 206-624-2374.