'Personal Health Records Essay\r'

'Abstract\r\nA in the flesh(predicate) s thoroughly upness attri savee d testify (PHR) is a public in like mannerl t palpebra consists of a comprehensive educationbase of an individuals soundlyness put downs. individualised wellness videotapes ar in stock(predicate) in a regeneration of platforms, much(prenominal) as typography, the internet, individualised computers, and portable devices. This writing describes the kernels included in a face-to-faceizedised wellness prove as well as the steps to displace unitedly a in the flesh(predicate) heathland register. The prefers of having a individualised wellness set down loafer be a invigoration saver. endurings fire control their own wellness records and revivify a proactive intention in disclose managing their individual(prenominal) wellness parcel erupt learning. S for eeral jobs remain an bit with face-to-face wellness records, issues much(prenominal) as credentials and scre en, cost, and lack of standardisation.\r\nHave you always wondered what to do with alone your immunisation records or old aesculapian records you store all everyplace the years and provoke stuffed away in a tenfold places by means ofout your business firm? That is beca implement until recently, individuals didn’t pay off a place to properly store their individualized wellness check examination examination checkup records. Every genius has a different corpse of how they guard their individual(prenominal) wellness records, from an old fit out box, to â€Å"the special drawer” or the everyplace stuffed file folder. in that location atomic descend 18 any(prenominal)(prenominal) problems associated with these broad of record sustentationing practices. early of all, they atomic tote up 18 non respectable or honorable in the accompaniment of stealing or fire. Secondly, it is nasty to manage your wellness from a file folder. constitutio ns documents collected oer a persons life fourth dimension raft be broad, especially in the so fart of a dogged term illness. It is a daunting task to gather up all your cover documents saved over the bypast some(prenominal) years and amaze them in single big disorganised pile to a wellness tuition\r\nworker and expect them to sort it out.\r\nBeca character of the demands in healthc argon and on health explosive focusing workers, thither has been an recent surge in the knowledge base of in the flesh(predicate) health records development. Several companies and\r\nresearchers pull in developed frank and creative slipway for individuals to maintain their ad hominem health records, in annexition to advantageously integrating their records into clinical healthc ar trunks. A personal health record is a way that individuals behind gather all at that place medical selective teaching and place it into one safe and strong place. ain health records atomic number 18 a gathering of an individuals medical entropy from some(prenominal) different sources and making them presentily advanceible in one or an former(a) format when asked. Sources where one magnate collect medical knowledge argon: clinics, multiple doctors offices, testing groundoratories, pharmacies, radiology de tellments, hospitals, redress companies, and the military, and so on not to conf determination anyone, but a personal health record or a electronic personal health record is non the same as a electronic health record. A personal health record is apply by an individual and they control who goat chance upon or use the culture in it. Other nation, such as their doctor, whitethorn be able to add entropy to it. An electronic health record is apply and controlled by health sympathize with providers. Electronic health records whitethorn be stored at a doctor’s office, a hospital, an restitution company, or an employer. (â€Å"NIH cargon for Plus,â⠂¬Â pgs. 16-17) Electronic health records be legally man go throughd nones on the c are provided by clinicians to forbearing place ofs. in that respect is no legal mandate on personal health records.(Wikipedia, n.d) Creating an comprehensive personal health record can be life saving for several reasons. maven reason be, in the case of an jot, medical personal need accurate up to date data in arrangement to provide an individual with the most in force(p) circumspection acquirable. For example, for the first clock eon in invoice at any crowd gathering, some(prenominal) of the people’s personal electronic health records were straight off, securely avai science laboratoryle to medical personnel at the world-famous Indy vitamin D motor race. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Clarian Emergency checkup C insert had get to to those\r\nrecords, thanks to the Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC). The data\r\ninclude gate code and sack notes, lab test results, and other critical learning. A personal electronic health record is medical breeding rough an individual that is stored in secure digital form on a computer or a vane of computers. The goal of many in the health- tuition field of operation is to have that data available instantly to health professionals wherever you areâ€even at The 500. (â€Å"NIH Medicine Plus,” pgs. 16-17)\r\nPutting together a personal health record is a great way to view as control of your health. A in-person health record is initiated and maintained by an individual. From utilise something as simple as a notebook, a file folder, or get a program or victimisation a tidings protected bladesite, creating a personal health record is proper much readily available than ever sooner. Web sites such a Google health or Microsoft wellness Vault are just a few of the many web based companies cashing in on the personal health record market. much or less of these web sites provide secu re password protected entryway to some health insurers, pharmacies, and providers so you can request and upload your records, saving yourself some work. slightly of the tools tack together on these web sites can support track and record your progress towards your health goals, such as weight mischief and nutrition. Keeps track of doctor visits and information to deal out with your doctor, such as air scars, cholesterol, and blood pressure since your travel appointment. Electronic personal heath record websites answer to pass the hassle of scheduling appointments, submitting insurance claims, rules of tell prescriptions or refills by mechanically doing it for you. additive tools include supervise devices such as a pacemaker check or blood sugar/insulin calculator to purchase order prescriptions.\r\nFlags recent practice of medicine or discharge instructions from your last visit. Costs may vary depending on the type of personal health record being used.\r\n use a compu ter based personal health record can be as easy as checking your e-mail. Personal health records are offered by a variety of sourcesâ€employers, insurers, health care organizations, and companies that aren’t in the healthcare arena. Kaiser Permanente said in April that much than 3 million of its 8.6 million members use its My health Manager system to admission fee their records, make appointments, look at lab results, and order\r\nprescriptions.(Hobson, 2009) PHRs can contain a diverse range of data and may include information such as: 1.Name, birth date, blood type\r\n2.Emergency contact(s)\r\n3.Primary caregiver(s)/ strait number\r\n4.Medicines, dosages, and how long taken, including over the income tax return and herbal remedies 5.Allergies/adverse drug reactions\r\n6.Date of last physical\r\n7.Dates/results of tests and screenings\r\n8.Major illnesses/surgeries/procedures and their dates/hospitalizations 9.Chronic diseases\r\n10.Family illness storey\r\n11.vacci nations/immunization records\r\n12.laboratory test results\r\n13.imaging reports\r\n14.Activities of daily living\r\n15. health insurance information\r\n16.Spiritual or Religious Preferences\r\n17.Advance Directives\r\nWhat not to include in your personal health record:\r\n1. your social security number\r\n2. home shell out\r\n3. telephone number\r\nUse watchfulness when placing your personal information on the internet. Using information that identifies you too closely can lead to identicalness theft, even medical individuality theft. Medical identity theft is when someone steals your insurance information and makes medical appointments in your digit and orders prescription medications. Reports cite 200,000 cases of medical identity theft each year. (Torrey, 2010)\r\nOne advantage to use a web-site for posting your PHR is having the skill to access your medical records from almost anywhere, anytime, as well as serving harbour your records updated and current. Using a PHR h elps to eliminate retroflex tests, which saves both time and money. In addition,\r\nalternatively of waiting for the usual 7-10 days for lab results to be mailed to you, systems can automatically upload the information to the PHR once they twist available. Not only does this help with patient of rejoicing, but is an enormous savings on mailing and handling costs. One of the obstacles and concerns of creating a personal health record is security and\r\nprivacy of individuals records. Many consumers wonder whether their health information is kept private and secure in an electronic health record system. There are several PHR web providers that would love nothing weaken than to rat your information to advertisers. Although at that place are several good programs, consumers need to use caution when selecting an online program. Most companies use encrypted programs to protect unsuitable and unauthorized access to an individuals personal health records.\r\nMany individuals continu e to use study records for their personal health records. However, with the invention of advanced(a) computer record belongings programs, cover records may not be as effective for the care of individuals with chronic illnesses. Some individuals have a long history of medical problems and have accumulated volumes of paper medical records. Paper records are not readily available at multiple locations at once and oft boon with an inconsistently of information. An individual with a chronic illness may benefit from transferring their paper records into an electronic personal health records program, which exit aid in up(a) their pertinacity of care and efficiency. Many personal health care programs offer services that forget help guide individuals on the how to of see and uploading their paper records into the program. some other benefit to using an electronic program is having your personal information formatted into a standard reporting structures for charting and overlap information and making it easier and faster for healthcare workers to follow-up medical history and discretion an individual. For example, a doctor can order a test for a patient and have the results transmitted to a their personal digital assistant and in turn can study the patients medical information and order merely tests, medications and treatments at their convenience. This not only saves time for the patient, but\r\nfrees the doctor from making buy at trips to the various locations to see patients or refresh results of tests. The results are whence immediately uploaded into the patients personal health records. (Mohammod, 2009) For example, a invigoratedly diagnosed insulin babelike diabetic may have concerns with the dosages of their insulin and skid scales plus managing their diet. tools included in some of the personal health record programs ordain smooth the progress of mapping out a diabetics progress as well as offering a overplus of educational sites and s uggestions and feedback, including alerts being sent to the medical student or nurse if their blood sugar enters into a dangerous zone.(SentinelNewsService, 2009)\r\nNursing colligate issues and Personal health records are enough more challenging then ever before. As progress towards digitizing healthcare evolves, nurses are caught in between the paper keep to electronic documentation chaos. Nurses must pass an proactive role in educating themselves to the variety of personal health record information that is readily available for their patients. Many patients are unaware of the services available to them and a healthcare provider must often help inspire their patients along their personal journey of creating a personal health record. Moreover, a nurse that is proactive with helping patients with their personal health records, forget in addition encourage a patient to goodish behaviors, by teaching patients how to use tools to keep track of their health progress, such as wei ght loss and diet control. boost a patient to keep better track of their healthcare records give be invaluable for patients with chronic illnesses. Providing up to date information in one document to a health care provider not only saves time and money, but assists the health care provider in providing safer and improved quality of care as well as a better way of communicating with their providers. As a nurse, it can\r\nbe very pr termination taking a health history on a patient with a chronic illness with a long list of medications. Often, patients are poor historians or don’t remember the relate of a drug or dosage. Nurses can authorise well over an mo just gathering information about the patients history before they can sire to treat the patients problem. It is always a have sign of\r\nrelief when a patient produces an itemized list of all their medications and dosages as well as their past medical history. The time pass gathering all the patients information coul d be better spent on giving more personal care to the patient as well as the other patients in the nurses care.(Sensmeier, 2010, p. 47-50)\r\nPhysicians have their own issues and concerns associate to personal health records. off bent grass printing of all, most physicians are mostly raise in providing safe, resourceful and revenue producing care. Physicians are slow to adapt to change and it is difficult to convince a physician to use a service for something that may not produce results for many years. Personal health records are in their infancy stages and are only a hand undecomposed of individuals are utilizing the services. Physicians as well other medical personal may not be educated on personal health records and are not make to review or edit or manage these type of records. However, once a document from a patients personal health record is imported into an Electronic medical record, the physician is then responsible for reviewing such data. Physicians are then responsi ble for maintaining the trueness of the data exported to the patients personal health record. Another concern is the issue of compensation. How are physicians red to be compensated for their time spent on training, implementation, updating and creating documents for PHR? Also, covering the costs associated with the hiring of new staff that depart be needed to head such a plan, as well as purchase the\r\nrequired equipment and software that go forth be used to interface with larger networks?(â€Å"American College for Physicians,” 2006, p. 1-2)\r\nPersonal health records have a direct impact on the role of the breast feeding information processing specialist. One of the roles of a nursing informatics specialist is reviewing, analyzing and organize new finishs across departments and determine how the new applications will best fit into a healthcare system effectively. One of the biggest concerns of any healthcare system is cost, the cost of a new program or application mus t be care amply scrutinized by the nursing informatics specialist as well as other personal within the healthcare system before being legitimate into the system. Several questions that go on from the nursing informatics specialist may include:\r\n1.Revenue enhancement\r\n2.Cost containment\r\n3.Broad-spectrum cohesiveness throughout the system\r\n4.Better workflow processes\r\n5.Government regulations\r\n6.Patient synthetic rubber/satisfaction\r\n7.Implementation and Development\r\n8.Data interfaces\r\n9.Troubleshooting and training\r\n10.Software/equipment issues\r\n11.Standardization development\r\nA headstone concern to most healthcare systems is the inevitability of employing such systems. Healthcare systems will eventually be forced into implementing such programs. The approaching of healthcare is rapidly congruous more digitalized and will be order by the consumers demands and systems that can better fit such demands. The next generation of computer savvy consumers and evolving healthcare technologies is on the read/write head of nursing informatics specialists agendas.\r\nNursing informatics specialists are scrambling to keep up with technology and developing savvy ways of keeping up with current trends in healthcare. Currently, on that point is very little data related to the purchasing costs of commercial PHR applications which comprises a problem to the NIS. Not only is PHR a cost concern problem, but anytime a new product as enormous as PHR applications are lingering over a health care systems head, it becomes a system wide concern because the future is so unpredictable and health care systems can’t afford to spend millions of dollars on the implementation of such systems and then the system becomes obsolete within a year after implementation. A nursing information specialist’s gossip is critical in healthcare systems decision making process.\r\nEvery day you disclose of a new process or a new policy related to healthcar e. Nursing information specialists are passably new to the healthcare scene and\r\nare instantaneously being propelled into unfamiliar and neer heard of areas of healthcare. A NIS must prolong on tight to their game hat and be prepared to handle the hair curler coaster ride of the unpredicted future of healthcare technology. (Shah, Kaelber, Adam, Pan, Middleton & Johnston, 2008)\r\nThe standardization of personal health records is an ongoing concern among consumers and the healthcare industry. There are many standards, open specifications, and efforts toward standardization of PHR information, and services. Many organizations are actively work to improve and support the exchange of medical record information.(â€Å"Records for Living,” 2010)\r\nBecause thither is not set standard among PHR vendors and health care organizations, the present recommendation is to adopt data content and exchange standards that are based upon standards accepted for EHRs, as a way of impro ving the interoperability of the systems. In addition, it is important for consumers to understand the privacy policies and practices of PHR vendors and health care organizations and who may have secondary access to their personal information. Also, these agencies should address any language barrier issues preventing the consumer from fully understanding the agencies practices related to security and privacy. Since HIPPA does not cover all PHR systems, consumers should be provided a complete outline of the uses of their PHR data and not covered entities should voluntarily adopt to exigent privacy policies and practices. No health information provided to a PHR agency should be used without the expressed consent or potentiality of the consumer. (US dept. of Health and Human Services, 2010)\r\nPresident render and depositary Leavitt have put away a vision that, in the Secretary’s lyric, â€Å"would arrive at a personal health record that patients, doctors and other healt h care providers could securely access through the Internet no matter where a patient is seeking medical care.” (US dept. of Health and Human Services, 2010) Before those famous words can be put into effect, there first, must be a ball-shaped standardization and recognized language. Currently,\r\nthere is no uniform definition of â€Å"personal health records”, therefore making\r\ncollaboration and policy-making difficult. The following aspects of PHRs can vary:\r\n1.what information is allowed on a PHR\r\n2.secure and reliable sources of the information\r\n3.features and functions offered\r\n4.custodian of the record\r\n5.storage location of the contents\r\n6.authorized access to records and security standards\r\nAdditionally, organizations will continue to unwrap gaps during the development phases of PHR, by collecting data and information, agencies can make recommendations and respond with beguile action.\r\nProviding readily accessible, safe and reliable data thr ough secure systems of communication will help to better serve consumers, patients, healthcare workers and federal and public agencies, and others far more effectively. However, there is a general concern for the underserved populations. There are several areas of the boorish that do not have access to such systems or have the resources or funds to purchase such systems. Also, there are educational barriers to consider in relation to health literacy issues which could limit the use of PHR systems in these underserved populations. With so many people out of work and living on welfare, there are far great concerns than having a PHR. Many people are only concerned with their basic natural selection and having enough resources to provide a repast or heat to their families. The government would need to provide assistance to the underserved if this was required of them.\r\nIn conclusion, as a nurse and a potential consumer, I am in favor of a electronic personal heath record and do ga uge the pros of such systems outweigh the cons, especially in the case of\r\nthe chronically ill. I do, but have many concerns with PHRs. As a nurse, it would be difficult to rely on data presented in a electronic personal health record unless I was able to verify the information with a physician\r\ntreating the individual or a family member. I can see how tardily an individual may inadvertently enter the wrong medication into their personal health record. A simple slip of the key may change a medication entered as a diabetes drug Amaryl preferably of an Alzheimer’s medication called Reminyl. Pharmaceutical companies are working hard to prevent medications from being named something similar to other drugs currently on the market, but there have been several reported deaths due to medication errors.\r\nIt should be required that a government monitoring agency be in charge of overseeing the content being entered into PHRs as well as protecting consumers from becoming the vic tim of targeted marketing scams or identity theft. Too often we hear of these things happening to unknowingness victims and unfortunately most of these victims are the elderly, which will more than likely be one of the biggest consumers of this kind of service. The government will as well as need to set standards for protecting consumers, otherwise, if consumers are being victimized on these kind of systems, PHR could potentially suffer harm and unaccented the trust of consumers. The widespread adoption of PHRs will not happen until consumers are footsure with their personal records being adequately protected.\r\nI think it is important to get consumers and patients more involved in their own healthcare. And one of the first steps is learning how to relieve oneself their own personal health record. Not only can they learn to create their own PHR, but they could get there family and friends involved as well. Using an Internet-based PHR system allows for multiple individuals, suc h as family members and caregivers to domiciliate patient information from multiple locations. For\r\nexample, a sibling that lives out of townsfolk may have the access to update their parents health information and also serving the information with another sibling who lives out of town and both collaborate on the information provided. This allows for continuity of care in the event of an illness and the sibling is not promptly available to be at their parents bedside.\r\nThe personal health record will play a key role in motivating the consumer\r\nor patient to a safer, more efficient form of healthcare. Because personal health records are still in their infancy stages, there remains a great deal of concern for the safety and security for the users personal information. Once these concerns are addressed and â€Å"idiot- proofed”, consumers and health care facilities may buy into it.\r\nPersonal health care records are designed to help individuals better organize their he alth care records by placing all their documents into one easily accessible format. This kind of application can be a life saver. Having all of a patients up to date information available for healthcare personal to review in one easy to read format may make the inconsistency between life and death in some cases. Quickly identifying drug allergies, medications, health history is all a part of the vital information needed in the case of any emergency. There is a myth among most consumers, most consumers bank that emergency rooms should have access to their medical records in the event of a crisis and the truth is, they don’t. Many patients see several doctors from a variety of locations and emergency rooms don’t have immediate access to all of a patients medical information. A personal health record not only allows you to share information with health care providers at multiple locations, it also empowers the consumer or patient to better manage their own health goals. Building a health record takes a considerable amount of time and effort. You have to collect all your past medical documents and manually enter them into a PHR platform of your choice. After that, it is as simple as scanning or faxing in a document or debut the information manually into a system after each visit to the doctor, or test, which keeps your medical records current and updated.\r\nTerm Paper\r\nReferences\r\nEHR/PHR Basics. (pgs. 16-17). Retrieved blemish 12th, 2011, from www.nlm.nih.gov Hobson, K. (2009). Time to switch to an online personal health record? Retrieved establish 11th, 2011, from www.usanews.com Mohammod (2009). encyclopaedia of Personal Health Records †Paper Records. Retrieved March 12th, 2011, from wiki.patientsknowbest.com Personal Health Records\r\nPolicy Statements adoptive by the American College of Physicians. (2006). Retrieved March 10th, 2011, from www.acponline.org Personal Health Records Standards. (2010). Retrieved March 13th, 2011, fro m www.recordsforliving.com Sensmeier, J. E. (2010). Tech update:the journey toward a personal health record. Retrieved March 11th, 2011, from www.nursingcenter.com SentinelNewsService. (2009). Nurses Engineer lead efforts to radically change personal health records. Retrieved March 11th, 2011, from www.lasentinel.net Shah, S., Kaelber, D., Adam, V., Pan, E., & Johnston, D. (2008). A Cost personate for Personal Health Records. Retrieved March 13th, 2011, from www.ncbi.nlm.hin.gov Torrey, T. (2010). Avoiding the consequences of medical identity theft. Retrieved March 11th, 2011, from www.patients.about.com US dept. of Health and Human Services. (2010). Personal Health Records and Personal Health Records Systems. Retrieved March 13th, 2011, from www.nchs.hhs.gov Wikipedia. (n.d). Personal Health Records. Retrieved March 12th, 2011, from www.wikipedia.org\r\n'