Myths about Personal Health Records

In the last couple of years there has been an increased level of interest among consumers about Personal health records.Although many are not aware of the term “Personal Health Record”as there are many confusing definitions in the world.With the entry of Internet heavy weights Microsoft and Google onto PHR world,there is now a renewed interest among media and consumers alike.

Last month,when Microsoft launched its much awaited PHR as a platform-Health Vault,PHR market had finally arrived,although the tipping point has not reached,but this will be a certainty when Google launches their version of Personal health record.

Unfourtunatley,there are several myths surronding Personal health record and also about Health Vault.

1.Personal Health Records offered by Microsoft corporation is a real PHR-NO! it is a platform in which many earlier vendors of PHR products have joined,with the storage of data done at Microsoft centers.Hence,the name Health Vault.Health vault is not exactly a PHR.

2.PHR offers panacea to all the ills of health care industry-by reducing errors dramatically-Up until now there has been no studies which show how PHR work and benefit health care industry.Physicians and also patients are slow to adopt the use of PHR because of the issue of population of health data-Who is going to do that?Health care worker or the patient himself?

3.PHR are cheap-Although many vendors of PHR offer the product for free-Free does not necessarily mean good.Because it costs money to host the data and maintain them in long run.So how do they make money-Is it non-profit or purely profit.If so,will your health data be sold or used for any other purpose like research or advancement of Health car?

4.PHR are easy to maintain-Contrary to what is described in the media and in several online sources,PHR are difficult to maintain,Imagine writing about your health data every day of your life,entering information about your any medical investigation or surgical procedure,all these are laborious task-which many of us detest.

5.All PHR are equal-Not all in the market are created equal,some have excellent features while majority of them lack even some basic essential features.Design and development of a PHR requires immense skill sets not only among physicians but also among technologists.

So,the next time you use a PHR use it with caution.

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