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Blue Shield of California introduced the new Member Health Record on Wednesday. It will make it easier for members to access their health information within the insurer’s app and website.
The Member Health Record will include lab results, immunizations, diagnoses and conditions. It will also offer access to historical health data and provide personalized health reminders for preventive care and well-being advice. In addition, members will be able to download their health record and share, print or email it to their care team or caregiver. The Member Health Record pulls real-time information from the insurer’s data hub called the Experience Cube, which takes data from multiple healthcare sources.
Oakland-based Blue Shield of California, which has 4.8 million members, is introducing an initial version of the Member Health Record to a select group of Medicare Advantage members. The insurer will be engaging with these members to understand what’s working, what’s not working and what can be done better, according to Jigar Shah, chief marketing officer at Blue Shield of California. By the end of the year, the Member Health Record will be available to all members.
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In 2025, Blue Shield of California plans to further improve the Member Health Record. These enhancements include dependent health record visibility, personalized benefit recommendations and care management plans for those with chronic health conditions.
According to Shah, members are typically bogged down with multiple apps and paperwork in order to access this kind of information. The Member Health Record simplifies this issue.
“What this does is it puts all the information in one place. … So it’s a one-stop place for our members to get all the information without having to download five different apps,” he said in an interview.
Shah added that the introduction of this feature comes at a time when patients are struggling to access healthcare.
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“Giving our members access to appointments in our app in the same place where they have access to their health record [is helpful],” he said. “They can see what health reminders and preventive care they need to work on, and switch back to the appointment module and then make an appointment.”
Ultimately, Shah hopes the new feature makes members’ lives easier.
“This is something that I want as a consumer and I know my friends and family would want,” he declared. “This is something we all want in healthcare: not having to deal with multiple different places to go for our health information.”
Photo: Anastasia Usenko, Getty Images