Personal Health Records – Putting patients in control?

John Cruickshank, Carl Packman & Jon Paxman

Our report examines the scope and potential benefits of both Record Access and the PHR. It appraises current patient attitudes toward online health record access, both in theory and in practice, and identifies fundamental prerequisites for the mass uptake of such services.

The evidence-base is admittedly limited at this present time, so we take into account developments from abroad, as well as findings from our own surveys of patients and potential users in England. Indications overall are that where we find increased patient involvement in personal healthcare, so we expect to find better health outcomes alongside lower service costs.

This report was funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Microsoft, giving us the freedom to draw our own conclusions.

Impact:

Sponsored by Microsoft and launched at Westminster, our report became an influential reference document, including for the 2013 VHA-NHS Leadership Exchange and 2020health’s campaigning for patients to have control over their medical records, as they do in the VHA, Kaiser Permanente and other healthcare providers.