1. Personal Health Records

2. Personal health records (PHR): – Availability and utility increasing Important for patients and consumers Combine data and empower patients – Electronic health records (EHR) have been adopted by clinical professionals – PHR still face barriers to adoption

3. PHR advantages Help empower people in their own care – Provide vital data to healthcare practitioners Repository for patient information Allow for decision making capabilities Centralizes storage and retrieval of patient data

4. How to create a PHR PHRs differ from EHRs – Used by individuals to monitor health information Kept with individual patient Accessed by patients to confirm health history – EHRs are used by clinicians Kept at secured locations Accessed only by members of the health care team

5. Barriers to the PHR Each person responsible for maintaining the accuracy of patient information – Patients need to understand medical words and lingo – May not be advisable to include written patient records as they may be poorly understood Security needs to be addressed Possibly threaten the autonomy of physicians in health care All stakeholders need to be involved in development

6. Outlook for the PHR Many leading authorities have supported the use and maintenance of PHR Education may clear barriers to adoption Patient-provider relationships may change rapidly Study is needed to evaluate barriers to implementation

7. References Gearon, C. (2007) Perspectives on the Future of Personal Health Records. California HealthCare Foundation. 2-5. Heinold, J. (2009) PHR Consumer Guide. PHR_GuideforConsumers.pdf. Tang P. (2005) "The missing link: bridging the patient-provider health information gap". Health Affairs. 24 (5): 1290–5. Tang, P. (2006) "Personal Health Records: Definitions, Benefits, and Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Adoption". JAMIA 13: 121–126."Personal Health Records: Definitions, Benefits, and Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Adoption"