Arizona seniors are part of a pilot program with Medicare that will allow them to have more control of their health records.

The program would make it easier for seniors to manage their health and allow friends and families of seniors to access medical histories to care for them.

"It's an information source, a way of empowering an individual to take control of their health care," said Tony Trenkle, director of electronic services for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The project, unveiled this week, will likely be launched in January for participating seniors on Medicare in Arizona and Utah.

Trenkle and his CMS team sent out a press release earlier this week to potential vendors in Arizona and Utah, soliciting interest in the program. While still in early stages, Trenkle said the proposal is for seniors to sign up for the program via a vendor, such as a health care provider or insurance group.

Trenkle compared the voluntary program to online banking services and said the online personal health records could simplify and condense record keeping.

"This is basically an online way to get access to your medical claims data," he said. "It's an online tool that allows people to manage their health care information."

With the electronic records system, seniors will be able to update information as they choose, Trenkle said. He gave the example of a diabetic being able to add their daily glucose levels to the records for better tracking and organization. The records could be printed out and taken to a new doctor or specialist. A senior could grant a physician, family member or caregiver access to the records as well, he said.

"I think it would be beneficial to a lot of people, not just seniors but their families and doctors," he said. "If this relative signs up for a (personal health record), it would enable (a caregiver or relative) to help monitor their condition. Seniors can see information related to their condition in one place. And it allows seniors to enter their own data."

Trenkle said interested vendors will be tested to ensure seniors' records are kept secure.

"We are making sure that the vendors who participate in this program have proper security programs in place," he said. "We take it very seriously. We're going to do everything to be sure that whoever participates in this program meets security safeguards."

Arizona and Utah are two of six states under Medicare's administrative contractor, Noridian Administrative Services, and were chosen to participate in this program because of high population numbers compared to the other states - South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming - also in the contractor's group.

Vendors have until September to apply for the program and beginning in January, seniors may be able to access their personal health records and claims up to two years in the past.

New claims would likely be added electronically by a vendor into a senior's personal health record within a week or two of being filed, Trenkle said.

"(This system will be) a lot more usable than the papers seniors have in (their) home," he said. "We're entering a new era, and it's going to change the way people interact with their health care providers. This is just the start."