Personal Health Records

The electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR) is a critical tool for patient involvement in healthcare.  The Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) defines an ePHR (PDF - 90KB) as follows:

"An electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR) is a universally accessible, layperson comprehensible, lifelong tool for managing relevant health information, promoting health maintenance and assisting with chronic disease management via an interactive, common data set of electronic health information and e-health tools. The ePHR is owned, managed, and shared by the individual or his or her legal proxy(s) and must be secure to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the health information it contains. It is not a legal record unless so defined and is subject to various legal limitations.