Legal implications of patenting EHR & PHR ideas

MMRGlobal, another US based health care company recently announced the expansion of its patented suite of electronic health care tools. The announcement is notable as patent wars have been an ongoing issue in the broader IT community for several years, with some developers arguing that the rush to patent actually limits technological innovation and can increase costs, while others see patents as a means of ensuring profitability. An interesting and telling phrase was included in the announcement, “the MMR patent portfolio is believed to be relevant to virtually any provider who transmits electronic health records in that it will limit their ability to communicate protected health information without potentially infringing on MMR’s patents.” In essence, anyone operating in this space may be obligated to establish a vendor relationship with MMR lest they draw the wrath of its patent enforcers.

Indeed, MMR President and CEO Robert H. Lorsch, is open about his plan on this score, “we have invested heavily in the development of our patent portfolio and are now positioned to reap the benefits of such investment by compelling doctors, pharmacies, insurance providers, electronic medical record providers and other healthcare professionals to choose negotiating a license with us for the use of our intellectual property or face potential infringement actions. With Meaningful Use requirements for patient engagement taking effect in 2014, which stipulate that patients have online access to their medical records within a certain period of time following the receipt of healthcare services, we believe the MMR portfolio is extremely relevant.”

“The Company has instructed us to begin enforcement of its intellectual property, and as a result, we have already begun contacting physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, and others who use or market methods and systems of providing Personal Health Records to patients or healthcare professionals...

...health IT may be headed down the same path as other parts of the IT landscape, forcing vendor relationships in order to avoid legal fees instead of focusing on maximizing value and outcomes based care – the original goals of many of these reforms. Watch this space.