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Industry Activities & Emerging Issues
Personal Health Records
The Personal Health Record (PHR) has been steadily gaining the interest of all stakeholders in the healthcare industry since the late 1990s. The abundance of health information collected and maintained on every individual from birth to death has grown exponentially since the inception of medical records in the early 1900s. The volume of personal health information (PHI) and the fragmented nature of where and how health records are maintained for each individual in our society make access to the right information at the right time and right place a critical issue in healthcare safety, quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. The purpose of this Web page is to keep all stakeholders informed about the progress being made to solve the multitude of challenges to widespread adoption to a standardized form of PHRs.
We invite all who visit this site to contact AHIMA with news of progress on PHI and PHR development and to join the debate on how the challenges of PHI and PHRs can be best met. Share your successes and lessons learned.
Definition and Description
In 2004, the AHIMA e-HIM Workgroup developed the following definition of a Personal Health Record:
Personal Health Record—A Definition
The personal health record (PHR) is an electronic, 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 does not replace
the legal record of any provider.
The definition of the PHR is still evolving within the healthcare community. It is influenced by marketplace demands as well as the economic, technological and political realities of the U.S. healthcare industry. This website will update the definition as greater consensus across stakeholders is achieved.
There are numerous areas that affect or are affected by PHRs:
- New and evolving technologies, including interoperability of PHRs with Next Generation 9-1-1, Public Safety Emergency Response Systems, and Automatic Collision Notification Systems (e.g. General Motors OnStar, Mercedes-Benz TeleAid, BMW Assist)
- Health banking activities
- Interoperability with electronic health records (EHRs)
- State and federal legislation related to EHRs and PHRs
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Standards and Industry Activities
- HL7 - The primary group developing standards for EHRs and PHRs. Example of recent payor standards work.
- AHIC - American Health Information Community
At its November 29, 2005, meeting, the American Health Information Community (the Community) recommended the formation of a workgroup on consumer empowerment. The Community further recommended that this workgroup develop a plan to realize a specific charge (deployment of pre-populated electronic registrations and medication histories) within one year that is visible to the American public and that works towards a broader charge (widespread adoption of personal health records) over time. The meetings of this workgroup are public and meeting materials are available to the public.
Charges will help the Community make recommendations based on the most complete information.
Broad Charge for the Workgroup:
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Make recommendations to the Community to gain wide spread adoption of a personal health record that is easy-to-use, portable, longitudinal, affordable, and consumer-centered.
Specific Charge for the Workgroup:
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Make recommendations to the Community so that within one year, a pre-populated, consumer-directed and secure electronic registration summary is available to targeted populations. Make additional recommendations to the Community so that within one year, a widely available pre-populated medication history linked to the registration summary is deployed.
- HITSP - Health Information Technology Standards Panel
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Other Resources & Links
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AHIMA Resources
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FORE Library:
AHIMA members have access to thousands of resources and publications through the Body of Knowledge (BOK). This web based library provides access to Journal of AHIMA articles, Perspective articles, external publications, AHIMA National Convention proceeding papers and more. The BOK has extensive resources on e-HIM and EHR topics.
July 2005, AHIMA e-HIM Personal Health Records Work Group
AHIMA e-HIM Personal Health Record Work Group. "The Role of the Personal Health Record in
the EHR. Appendix A: Attributes of the PHR" Journal of AHIMA 76, no.7
(July-August 2005): web extra
"The Value of Personal Health Records: A Joint Position Statement for Consumers of Health
Care." Journal of AHIMA 78, no.4 (April 2007): 22,24
By Ritu Agarwal, Professor and Robert H. Smith Dean’s Chair of Information Systems,
Executive Director, Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS)
By Carol Cronin
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