New Projects At 2nd Annual Conference
SAN FRANCISCO (January 21, 2006) – PHR has arrived. And the world is a better place
for it.
Much more than a buzzword for quite some time now, Personal Health Record (PHR) applications
represent a movement to shift oversight and management of vital medical information from the health care provider
to the individual. By taking advantage of recent developments in both legislation and technology,
PHR offers a practical and effective solution for patients to manage their own health information.
The second annual meeting of the Peoplechart PHR Research Projects, held this weekend at the
Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, showcased the growing participation of industry stakeholders who
support this concept and the range of real-world benefits that are now available to individuals who want
greater access to their health information.
Most clinics, hospitals, HMOs and other providers today use fully computerized systems for
their billing and accounting. Yet, the majority of physicians still record their
patient's medical information on paper, stored inside traditional manila file jackets.
Despite common misperceptions, emergency personnel and even general-care clinicians seldom
have access to a patient's health records from other providers. Medications taken, known allergies, pre-existing
conditions – the lion's share of data essential to effective treatment resides mostly as
handwritten notes in an individual's paper files, spread among any number of primary-care providers
and/or specialists.
As a direct but complementary alternative to this established approach, a PHR provides a
solution that organizes all of the patient's medical records created by multiple health care
providers in a single secure electronic location under the direct control of the individual.
PHR: PUTTING PERSONAL HEALTH RECORDS IN THE HANDS OF THE PERSON
With a wide-ranging, multi-state research study now in its second year, the participants in
the PHR Research Projects proved unanimous at their January meeting in reporting initial success at
implementing PHR in diverse care settings and patient populations, early benefits on patient
satisfaction and care, and challenges for an industry that has providers charging patients
artificially high photocopying and mailing fees.
The day-long conference covered a wide range of topics related to PHR: its implications for
public policy and government; its benefits from the perspective of the consumer, the caregiver,
and the physician; its features and position in the marketplace; its latest technological
developments; and real-world experiences from clinics, senior centers, in-home care, mental health,
and transplant facilities.
Linda Golodner of the National Consumers League, Gail Hunt of the White House Conference on
Aging (WHCOA) Policy Committee, Suzanne Mintz of the National Family Caregivers Association, Dr. Jack
Lewin of California Medical Association and Board Chair of Patient Safety Institute, Dr. Whitney
Limm of the Transplant Institute of the Pacific, researchers from several renown medical
universities, and about a dozen other presenters all reached the same conclusion: PHR offers a
viable, and at times enviable, solution to the way patient health information is being managed
today.
While PHR does not replace the physician's legal set of records or involvement of the health care professional in monitoring a
patient's progress in any way, it does provide patients with toolset that allows for a more active
role in their health care, in partnership with their physicians.
“Every member of this team who attended the meeting invested much more than a day,” said Megan Mok,
founder and chief executive of Peoplechart. “With such a diverse panel unanimous in their enthusiasm
for applying PHR in the field, I can only imagine what results we'll have in hand by the time we meet
again next year.”
Agendas and Attendees