Wrong Technology or Wrong Business Model? Revolution Health Ends PHR

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Wrong Technology or Wrong Business Model? Revolution Health Ends PHR

Chris Tsai | February 2, 2010 - Leave a Comment

Companies	Revolution Health
Industries	Health IT Consumer Health Personal Health Record

On Jan. 28, 2010, Revolution Health emailed its personal health records (PHR) users that the service will end in February.

“Thank you for being a loyal user of the Revolution Health Personal Health Record,” stated the e-mail. “Unfortunately we will be discontinuing this service as of the end of February 2010 and removing all records, information, and data from the Revolution Health Web site.” It was suggested that users download their records for future reference.

While no explanation was offered to its users, Marjorie Martin, the general manager for Everyday Health, the parent company, provided several explanations for the PHR disappearance the next day.

Learn why Revolution Health ended its PHR after the break.

A key factor was low utilization. Revolution Health had hundreds of PHR users but not the thousands expected. “Most users still rely on their physicians to do the record-keeping,” Martin said. “They don’t feel the need to make a change. Also, it’s still a fairly laborious experience.” She noted that Cleveland Clinic’s PHR, in conjunction with Google Health, is one of the few examples of PHR success.

Martin explained that the PHR also suffered from inadequate usability testing prior to offering the product, a consumer audience not ready to control their own records, and the need for more physician involvement.

Founded in 2007 by Steve Case, Revolution Health merged with Waterfront Media in late 2008. Many analysts viewed the merger as an attempt to compete with WebMD. The PHR announcement comes only a few days after Everyday Health filed with the SEC an initial public offering (IPO) of $100M.

Source: Healthcare IT News