IBM staff medical records online

IBM is giving its US employees online access to their medical records, making it one of the first large companies to put workers' health data on the internet.

IBM's 133,000 workers in the US would have the option to enrol in the online information system, IBM said in a memo to be sent to employees. Workers can also sign up their dependants.

IBM said in the memo that workers' health records would be kept strictly confidential. Only employees would have access to their medical records, which are protected by federal privacy and security rules as well as IBM's own policies.

IBM is among the first large US companies to make employees' health records available online, a spokesman said last week.

The records would allow employees and health care workers to review information about their allergies, medications, medical histories and test results, IBM said.

In an era where concerns about identity theft of financial information is mounting, the digitisation of personal medical records potentially raises even greater privacy concerns.

While technically possible for decades, IBM is now forging ahead in part to demonstrate to its customers that it is willing to practice what it preaches as it pushes for greater use of automation in the health care and medical industries.

"The long-term goal for electronic health records is to make patient data securely available to health care providers such as hospitals and emergency personnel when and where the information is needed," IBM said in the memo.

IBM has about 330,000 employees worldwide. The company said it had designed a national health care system using electronic records in Denmark.

- REUTERS