title: Considerations for personal health record procurement.
abstract: Patients with chronic illnesses require tools and resources to facilitate self-management. Personal Health Records (PHRs) are a promising option for delivering these tools and resources to patients with chronic illnesses. As such, many organizations are becoming interested in PHR procurement. However, traditional procurement methods may not ensure the system success and adoption. In this study a group of subject matter experts discussed the possibility of converting a paper-based PHR into an electronic tool. These discussions resulted in generation of several important criteria for assessing commercially available PHR solutions and other considerations related to PHR procurement. These considerations should be contemplated and discussed with stakeholders prior to PHR procurement. In order to realize the benefits PHRs, it is imperative that the appropriate selection is made. Prior to purchase commitment, a trial period can prove extremely useful for performing usability analyses and ensuring interoperability. Supplementing traditional procurement methods with these preliminary user evaluations will increase the likelihood that the selected system best matches the needs of users and purchasers. Moreover, the risk of system failure and the risk of limited adoption of the PHR by the public will be reduced as a result of adopting these methods.
authors: School of Health Information Science, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. monkman@uvic.ca
authors: Helen
authors: H
authors: Monkman
authors: Andre
authors: A
authors: Kushniruk
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D057225:Data Mining / Q000379:methods*; D057286:Electronic Health Records; D055991:Health Records, Personal; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*