PhR

Personal Health Record (PHR) is a patient-controlled digital record of an individual's health information. Unlike clinician-held electronic health records, PHRs are owned and managed by the person, who can collect, view, update, and share data as they see fit. PHRs may be hosted locally on a device or stored in the cloud, and they may be standalone applications or linked to one or more health care providers through secure connections.

PHRs typically include demographics, medications, allergies, immunizations, laboratory results, medical problems, procedures, vital signs, and care plans, as well as patient-entered information such as symptoms, lifestyle data, and advance directives. Data can come from multiple sources, including health care providers, laboratories, and the patient themselves. Interoperability standards such as HL7 FHIR, CCDA or CCD, and API-based exchanges enable data import and export between PHRs and provider EHR systems.

Benefits include improved patient engagement, more complete medication reconciliation, better adherence, and enhanced care coordination. Challenges involve privacy and security risks, data accuracy and completeness, consent management, and the digital divide that limits access for some populations. Governance, data provenance, and long-term data portability are ongoing concerns.

Regulatory frameworks vary by country; in the United States, HIPAA governs the protection of personal health information held by covered entities, while GDPR applies in the European Union for data protection. PHR use continues to grow as health systems and technology vendors emphasize patient access and interoperability.