Personal Health Records : Do they work?

A study funded by the Federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality conducted by the Medical College of Georgia Center for Patient and Family Centered Care will work with hypertensive patients in the family medicine and internal medicine practices at MCGHealth to see if the electronic personal health record enhances patient involvement.A year-long study of 720 patients with hypertension will see half the participants use the newly-refined electronic personal health record and the remainder will receive standard treatment for a condition that affects about one quarter of the population or 65 million Americans.

Earlier the MCG Center for Patient and Family Centered Care, received a $30,000 grant from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2005 to test the Cerner system, used under the brand name My HealthLink at MCGHealth, in patients with multiple sclerosis. The 12-month study found that patients liked having a secure electronic link to care givers and that the electronic personal health record is an effective tool in helping battle chronic disease.

“This project will help demonstrate that when we partner with patients to really redesign the system of care, we will build the system in a way that works best for the people we serve,” says Beverley H. Johnson, the institute’s president and CEO. “I think the project creates a way to look over the next couple of years at how you get effective, sustained partnerships with families in place to make the care of higher quality which will lead to better outcomes.”

Study participants don’t have to have a computer; study coordinators will help those who don’t find where they can use one. However one of the many questions being asked is whether or not having a computer affects use of the electronic personal health record.

They will learn how to use the electronic record then have follow up visits at three, six and 12 months. Researchers will measure what they call patient activation or just how involved patients are in their own health, gather pertinent biological data such as blood pressure and waist circumference and use a widely accepted test to assess their relationship with their physician.