PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD

Written by: Jannine R. Sotelo

Published: April 15, 2023

WHAT IS PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD?

        A personal health record (PHR) refers to the collection of an individual's medical documentation maintained by the individual themselves, or a caregiver, in cases where patients are unable to do so themselves. This personal information includes details such as:

• The patient's medical history
• Applicable diagnoses
• Historical and ongoing medications, including over-the-counter and alternative treatments
• Past medical and surgical interventions
• Immunization status
• Allergies and other relevant medical conditions that can impact the delivery of emergency care (e.g., Type 1 diabetes, etc.)
• Blood type
• Whom to contact in the event of an emergency
• Insurance information
• Contact information for the patient's regular health providers

        A PHR can be physical or electronic, as is becoming more frequent in the future. It comprises all self-reported and self-recorded health data, such as health conditions and treatments, vital sign and activity records recorded with personal devices such as smartphones and smartwatches, nutritional data such as diet composition and calorie consumption, and so on. There are several commercial apps available that allow an individual to keep a PHR, and some also allow integration of this data with the individual's EMR/HER, allowing them to better manage their own health.

DIFFERENCE AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN EHR AND PHR

        Just like EHRs, PHRs contain information like diagnoses, medications, immunizations, family medical histories, and provider contact information.

        Electronic medical records (EMR) are digital patient records and charts, whereas electronic health records (EHR) are that and more. EHRs include tools for prescribing medications electronically, ordering labs, streamlining internal and external communications, and sharing data. A PHR is the same as EHR, but are meant to be owned, set up, and managed by patients. An electronic health record (EHR) is a computer record that originates with and is controlled by doctors, a personal health record (PHR) can be generated by physicians, patients, hospitals, pharmacies, and other sources but is controlled by the patient.

THE GOAL OF PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD

    The goal of a PHR is to allow the patient to keep their health data on hand for ready access for both themselves and anyone involved in their care while maintaining the privacy and security of this data. A PHR can hence assist in providing tailored medical care.

BENEFITS OF PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS

Benefits of PHR Platforms 

• A snapshot view of the individual’s health.
• Objective data points for vital signs, nutrition, physical activity, and disease course, which can allow individuals to follow their health in real-time and quantify the amount of effort and change that has occurred over time.
• Gamification of the health data collection and reporting process can serve as a source of motivation in achieving health goals such as weight loss targets, motivational videos, calorie registers, etc.
• Greater clarity of medications to be taken and better compliance with them, plus an improved assessment of the same
• Identification of successes and failures in the delivery of care and the underlying reasons for them
• Rapid emergency response with the availability of pertinent health data in the absence of a caregiver or bystanders.

REFERENCES:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557757/

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/fall08ehrpersonalvshealth/#:~:text=What's%20the%20Difference%3F,is%20controlled%20by%20the%20patient.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/emr-ehr-phr-actual-difference-between-3-confusing-terms-a-khader#:~:text=A%20PHR%20is%20the%20same,histories%2C%20and%20provider%20contact%20information.

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/16204-emr-vs-ehr-explained.html