The number of Americans who electronically access personal health records (PHRs) has more than doubled from just a year ago, and PHR users report that they know more about their health, ask more questions, and take better care of themselves, according to a study released this week.
In the survey, 7% of 1,849 participants located throughout the U.S. reported that they used a PHR, an increase from the 2.7% usage reported in a 2008 survey by the Markle Foundation of New York City. The survey was conducted by Lake Research Partners for the California HealthCare Foundation, both in Berkeley, CA.
More than half of the respondents who used PHRs indicated that they were provided by their health insurance plan. California had the highest percentage of users at 15%; residents of Western states were twice as likely to use a PHR (11%) as the other geographic regions of the U.S.
The survey showed that about half of respondents preferred to use PHRs provided by their physicians or insurance companies, while 25% expressed willingness to use PHRs developed and marketed by private technology companies. Three-quarters of all respondents worried about privacy issues.
The primary uses reported for a PHR were to verify the accuracy of a patient record, review laboratory or radiology test results, and renew prescriptions. Users without a college education were twice as likely to ask questions of healthcare providers that they otherwise would not have asked, compared to college educated users. Almost twice as many users (58%) with incomes below $50,000 reported that PHRs enabled them to feel more connected to their physician, compared to users (31%) with higher incomes.
PHR users were identified as predominantly young, highly educated white men, with high incomes. Although 80% of respondents indicated that they owned a smartphone, only 30% stated that they wanted to use personal healthcare-related applications designed for them.
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