Intention To Use A Personal Health Record (phr) A Cross Sectional View Of The Characteristics And Opinions Of Patients Of One Internal Medicine Practice
A personal health record (PHR) allows a patient to exert control over his/her healthcare by enhancing communication with healthcare providers. According to research, patients find value in having access to information contained in their medical records. Often a glossary is required to aid in interpreting the information and understanding the content. However, giving patients the ability to speak with providers about their medical conditions empowers them to participate as informed healthcare consumers. The majority of patients (75%) at Medical Specialists expressed their intention to adopt the PHR if it is made available to them. Although the perceived usefulness of a PHR was a significant determining factor, comfort level with technology, health literacy, and socioeconomic status were indirectly related to intention to adopt as well. Perceived health status was not found to be a significant factor in this population for determining intention to adopt a PHR. The majority of patients in each category of gender, age, marital status, and race/ethnicity (except American Indian/Alaska Native) expressed interest in adopting a PHR, with most categories being above 70%. Findings indicate a broad acceptance of this new technology by the patients of Medical Specialists. Improvement of adoption and use rates may depend on availability of office staff for hands-on training as well as assistance with interpretation of medical information. Hopefully, over time technology barriers will disappear, and usefulness of the information will promote increased demand
