Aetna to offer an online service that helps link records and research

Aetna has plans to announce a new service called SmartSource that draws upon a patient's own medical history to help answer questions about symptoms and treatments. The insurer plans to provide the service free to its customers in the hopes it will help people manage their own healthcare. Aetna leaders also think the service can help it recruit and retain employer-customers worried about the costs of care. SmartSource will be offered to employers that provide worker health benefits through Aetna, and a gradual introduction will begin in August 2008.