Personal Health Records

The Medstar eHealth Initiative defines a personal health record (PHR) as

"an Internet-based set of tools that allow people to access and coordinate their lifelong health information and make appropriate parts available to those who need it.  PHRs can be owned by individuals or integrated into a physician's electronic health record (EHR).  In either case, PHRs give people access to their health information such as medications and test results and help them become more proactively engaged in their own care."At the Tipping Point: A Consumer's

Medem, Inc. has partnered with the American Medical Association to offer iHealth Record -- a no cost, secure and confidential, interactive personal record of an individual's medical history. It is the first secure interactive online personal health record available for every American allowing them to take control of their personal health, or in the case of caregivers, their parents, children, or others. Individuals can create, manage and share (with authorized physicians) their personal health information.

This PHR also supports Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organization's (JCAHO) 2005 Patient Safety Goal:  Accurately and completely reconcile medications across the continuum of care.  It provides for a process for obtaining and documenting a complete list of the patient's current medications upon the patient's admission to the organization and with the involvement of the patient.  The health care provider can then compare the patient's list of medications to the list in the organization's records.  It also helps facilitate the process of communicating a complete list of the patient's medications to the next provider of service when it refers or transfers a patient to another setting, service, practitioner or level of care within or outside the organization.

The iHealthRecord is worth looking into by physicians, especially those in small practices with limited access to health information technology.iHealthRecord

So, what would Doc think?

Comments

[Shahid N. Shah]

If you're interested in PHRs, check out the following article at IBM's HealthNex blog:

http://healthnex.typepad.com/web_log/2005/11/the_red_cross_s.html

[carol]

I am new to this, and as I look around at the literature, I see alot of mixed comparison. I am putting together a database with tables and reports that the patient fills out. No doctor's record or chart needed (or desired). It goes on a CD, and your file can be stored on the computer or the CD. There is a "print all" function but it produces alot of output. The main problem is that I/the programmer have to creat tables in Access, so you are actually filling in a pre-designed one.

Any help on content would be appreciated. I did not use Diagnosis because that is doctor-speak. And a doctor would not take the patient seriously.