Assessing the Impact of Personal Health Records on Underserved Patients with Chronic Illness

Award Amount: $298,432
Approval Date: November 14, 2007
Start Date: December 1, 2007
End Date: May 31, 2009
Regents of the University of California
1001 Potrero Avenue
SFGH 80, Box 0874
San Francisco, California 94143-0874
Principal Investigator: James O. Kahn, M.D.

Electronic medical records have been shown to help providers deliver better, safer care to patients. Electronic personal health records (PHRs) offer additional benefits: by providing patients with direct access to their personal medical information and the ability to input their own notes, they engage patients in managing their condition. Focusing on a large HIV/AIDS outpatient clinic at San Francisco General Hospital, a safety net facility that already has an established electronic medical record system, this project will evaluate the usefulness of PHRs accessed through the "convergent technologies" of broadband Internet, cellular technology, and telemedicine. The investigative team will assess the impact PHRs have on patients' adherence to treatment guidelines, disease progression, clinical outcomes, and use of health services. The findings will help providers and policymakers understand how PHRs can help these patients manage their chronic illness.