Personal Health Record
There is no commonly accepted definition but according to US based The Markle Foundation’s Connecting for Health collaborative, a public-private endeavor-”An electronic application through which individuals can access, manage and share their health information, and that of others for whom they are authorized, in a private, secure, and confidential environment”. According to AHIMA: The personal health record (PHR) is an electronic, universally available, lifelong resource of health information needed by individuals to make health decisions. Individuals own and manage the information in the PHR, which comes from healthcare providers and the individual. The PHR is maintained in a secure and private environment, with the individual determining rights of access. The PHR is separate from and does not replace the legal record of any provider.
- What does my Personal Health Record contain?
Your last name and commonly-used first name, birth date, information used to identify your personal physician and any information needed for healthcare coordination.
In Addition to
- General medical data: your personal medical and surgical histories, previous use of specialised medical services, recognised allergies and intolerances, and your vaccine history.
- Healthcare data: results from biological tests, reports from diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, diseases and treatment underway, etc.
- Imaging data: both reports and images: x-rays, IRMs, etc.
- Who can enter data into my PHR?
Doctors and healthcare professionals whom you will have personally approved. Each piece of information listed in your PHR will be dated, signed and its author identified.
- Will I be able to add information to my PHR myself?
Health information will be entered solely by healthcare professionals. However, there will be room for personal statements so that you can speak out about your health condition.
- Can I hide information?
Yes, you are allowed to hide medical information in your PHR, except from the healthcare professional who wrote it.
Benefits
Where and how do patients access their PHR?
- Desktop-based
- Web-based
- Portable device Data
How does information get into the PHR?
Patient sourced
Professionally sourced
- Institutional gateways
- Integrated service gateways
- Single-service gateways
- Aggregator models
- Third-party repositories
- Record locator service
Functions What can people do with their PHR?
Core repository of personal heath data
- Name and demographic information
- Emergency contacts, next of kin
- Family history
- Insurance information
- Problem list (diseases and conditions)
- Medications (Rx, over-the-counter [OTC], vitamins, herbals and other alternative therapies)
- Allergies and reactions
- Immunizations
- Labs and tests
- Hospitalizations/surgeries
- Other therapeutic modalities (counseling, occupational therapy, alternative, etc.)
- Visit summaries
- Advance directive form
- Spiritual affiliations/considerations
- Other concerns—free text field to share other information with physicians
- Goals, next step, or disease management plan
Optional content or transactional services
- Links to patient education, self-care content, and consensus guidelines
- Secure messaging
- Doctor’s notes and other narrative information
- Appointment scheduling and reminders
- Preventive service reminders
- Adherence messaging
- Patient diaries (pain, symptoms, side effects)
- Longitudinal health tracking tools (charts, graphs)
- Drug interactions checking
- Prescription refills
- Financial information such as Explanation of Benefits
- Scanned images such as CT scans
Source
- Personal Health Record:Government of France,Health Department Press Release Kit
- AHIMA e-HIM Personal Health Record Work Group. “The Role of the Personal Health Record in the EHR.” Journal of AHIMA 76, no.7 (July-August 2005): 64A-D
- Connecting for Health. (2004). Connecting Americans to their healthcare. Final report of the Working Group on Policies for Electronic Information Sharing Between Doctors and Patients. New York: Markle Foundation.Markle Foundation
