US patients get health check extranet

A giant consortium is being set up to exploit the burgeoning US market for electronic health records.

Medic, subsidiary of UK software company Misys, will be one of the main software suppliers for the network.

Alistair MacDonald, Misys communications director, said: "We're already offering electronic medical records. This takes it one step further by setting up a medical extranet, where private patients can check their insurance status and monitor their payments."

He added that the service would control and reduce costs. Just using electronic records to replicate health tests could save the healthcare industry $2bn per year, he said.

However, the main obstacle to the extranet's success is expected to be convincing physicians of its financial benefits.

Potential participants in the extranet include healthcare providers, insurers, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and software suppliers such as IBM and Microsoft.

The service is due to launch by summer.