Personal Health Records

Abstract

An increasing focus on e-health and a governmental push to improve healthcare quality while giving patients more control of their health data have combined to promote the emergence of the personal health record (PHR). The PHR addresses timeliness, patient safety, and equity, goals that the Institute of Medicine has identified as integral to improving healthcare. The PHR is vital to the National Health Information Network (NHIN) that is being developed to give all Americans access to electronic health records by 2014. Despite increasing public access to PHRs via employers, insurance companies, healthcare providers, and independent entities, it is unclear whether the PHR will be successfully implemented and adopted by the public. This chapter looks at how PHRs address the needs, desires, and expectations of patients, explores the data quality concerns regarding patient-generated information (data capture, sharing and integration with other systems), discusses social implications of adoption, and concludes with a discussion of the evolving role that PHRs play in the growth of patient-centered e-health.