Health informatics — Personal health records — Definition, scope and context

Personal health records (PHRs) differ from electronic health records, and there is a lack of consistency in how the term PHR is applied. This document gives a definition of a PHR to help clarify the types of records that should be called PHRs. It considers the PHR from the perspective of the personal information contained within it and the core services needed to manage this information.

A PHR encompasses a spectrum of possible information repositories and services. This document discusses the scope of the PHR in terms of this spectrum as a series of dimensions by which a PHR may be classified and equivalent PHR products compared. It also includes one dimension to classify the types of collaborative-care-PHRs provided by healthcare organisations.

Scenarios for collaborative care between individuals and healthcare organisations are also included, to reflect the role of PHRs in the wider context of engaging individuals in managing their health.

Main sections:

· Scope

· Definition of a PHR

· Scope of the PHR

· Context of the PHR

· Annex A: Published definitions of the PHR

· Annex B: Relationship of this technical report to the HL7 PHR System Functional Model