Summary
Personal Health Records (PHR) and its relative, the Electronic Medical Record(EMR) represent ideals which have the potential to improve the delivery of health care to consumers. Introduction of these platforms by such enterprises as Google may increase visibility of these tools and influence utilization. The challenge, however, will be the acceptance and integration of these platforms by the physicians.
Analysis
Given the fragmentation present in the current delivery of health care, many policymakers advocate the development of Personal Health Records and Electronic Medical Records. These records are designed to provide a seamless transmission of medical information from one medical provider to another...thus potentially reducing the number of medical errors.
Google's plan for its own version of a Personal Health Record Platform has the potential to uplift the current progress of Personal Health Record implementation, but they must carefully consider the many challenges which exist before it can be successful. To Google's credit, its involvement will likely result in more widespread recognition of the problem of fragmented health records. It will also likely increase utilization as access is only limited by the availability of the internet to the consumer.
From both a physician and patient perspective, there are several obstacles which Google must address before successful implementation occurs. These include issues such as privacy, clinical relevancy, verifiability and usability.
Privacy issues revolve around who gets access and what information is revealed. Although Google reports the ability to address these concerns, any break in walls of medical privacy would by lethal to the credibility of the platform.
Clinical relevancy touches upon the basis of having an electronic medical record in the first place. If the information placed within the record is incomplete, or does not integrate from one office to another, its value is useless.
Verifiability relates to tampering of the information. There may be individuals or organizations who will obtain access to the information and have the ability to change data. This can have far-reaching implications, for examples in the arenas of insurance, medicolegal issues, and worker's compensation injuries to name a few.
Finally, the issue of a platform that is user-friendly, or "usable" by physicians is a criteria for success that cannot be overlooked. Current electronic medical record implementation attempt have been met with high resistance from physician simply based on the difficulties in both visualizing and inputting data. As a culture, physicians are performance based individuals, and if a particular technology is not working efficiently, the tendency is to revert to the "tried and true" way of completing tasks.
In summary, the ideal of the Personal Health Record and Electronic Medical record is an important one. The criteria for successful implementation, however, are quite stringent and must analyzed and addressed.
