Personal Health Records: Patient Concerns
Step 1 Read the scenario:
Cindy is a 57-year-old single female who works as a graphic designer at a midsized paper manufacturer. She describes herself as being very shy and private. She weighs 358 lbs and is 5′ 8″ tall. She has recently lost her mother and is greatly concerned about improving her own health. She has been diagnosed with the following conditions: type II diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.
For each condition, she sees a different provider in a different healthcare institution. However, all the institutions are affiliated with a large regional healthcare system. Cindy takes five prescription medications for her conditions and fills them at three different pharmacies, each located near one of her providers. In the past, she has kept her medical records in a box in her closet. She has become frustrated with the lack of communication between her providers and her relationship with them.
Step 2 Include responses to the following questions when you write your paper:
What benefits do personal health records (PHRs) bring to patients?
What concerns do personal health records (PHRs) bring to patients?
What concerns do you envision Cindy having with adopting a PHR?
Do you feel those concerns outweigh the benefits of adopting a PHR? Why or why not?
How could these barriers be overcome?
Where would Cindy seek guidance in adopting a PHR?
Given the facts of this scenario of multiple health providers, multiple prescriptions, multiple pharmacies, and no PHR, how many potential points of failure exist in the overall care of this patient? Will a PHR help eliminate all or even some of these points of failure?
