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UnitedHealth Group Makes It Simpler for Physicians to Administer Health Care with Updated Customer ID Cards

^{Published on 2009-02-04 05:25:45, Last Modified on 2009-02-04 05:26:52 - Market Wire}
 

MINNEAPOLIS--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Consistent with its ongoing commitment to make it easier for physicians to administer health care, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is the first to apply new industry standards to customer health care ID cards across all its businesses. This gives physicians and other care providers simpler access to more real-time information about their patients, while also advancing a single data platform for health care ID cards industrywide.

These advances will help simplify administrative processes for physician office staff, improve accuracy, and increase both customer and physician satisfaction. UnitedHealth Group collaborated with the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, as well as physician and hospital associations to create the new health care ID card standards.

UnitedHealth Group is the first national health company to take this step for all its health plans and has already begun issuing new cards for some employer-sponsored health plans, as well as Medicaid, Medicare, dental and vision plans. Nearly 25 million of the new cards will be issued by the end of 2009.

"These new national standards will create a single platform that simplifies the exchange of information between insurers and care providers so that verifying important patient information will be as easy as a swipe of a card," said Peter Barry, co-chair, WEDI Workgroup for National Provider Identifier Implementation and CEO, Enumeron, LLC. "We thank UnitedHealth Group for participating in this important endeavor and for being the first to advance these new standards across all its businesses."

New national standards now require health care ID cards to include a magnetic stripe that can be read through a standard card-reader machine, and also be designed with a standard layout to increase readability and be compliant with the National Council for Prescription Programs. The new cards will enable this enhanced swiping capability by using what is referred to as the ‘third track' of the magnetic stripe on the back of the card.

UnitedHealth Group was the first to introduce swipe-card technology to health care ID cards five years ago. By applying the new national standards established by WEDI, the cards can now be read using a standard card reader and will provide patient eligibility information and access to a personal health record, and process health care transactions. Information is not stored directly on the cards, and access is permitted only with the patients' permission, ensuring their information is properly protected and secure.

"UnitedHealth Group's new health care ID card was created after consulting with physician office staff, pharmacists, hospitals and consumers to ensure that we created an advanced card that is easy to use," said David Wichmann, president of UnitedHealth Group Operations. "By working with WEDI and others to create consistent national standards on how information is exchanged, we have achieved an important milestone in simplifying the health care experience among consumers, care providers and health care companies."

UnitedHealth Group has been participating with the WEDI workgroup since 2005 to help develop these new standards. By creating an integrated health care ID card, consumers and physicians will benefit from the following capabilities:

• confirmation of the plan participant's benefits eligibility and coverage information;
• access to the patient's personal health record, providing critical up-to-date information about medical history, current and past prescriptions, and diagnoses from other care providers; and
• real-time claim adjudication, allowing physicians to submit UnitedHealthcare claims online and receive a fully adjudicated response in seconds.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to making health care work better. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through six operating businesses: UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, OptumHealth, Ingenix, and Prescription Solutions. Through its family of businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 70 million individuals nationwide.