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Electronic Personal Health Record Definition
By
Feb 29, 2008 - 12:25:57 PM

HIMSS Electronic Personal Health Record Definition
Fact Sheet


HIMSS defines an ePHR as follows:

An electronic Personal Health Record (ePHR)
 
· Is a universally accessible, layperson comprehensible lifelong tool for managing health information, promoting health maintenance and assisting with chronic disease management via an interactive, common data set of electronic health information and e-health tools.
 
· Should be owned, managed and shared by the individual or legal proxy.
 
· Must be secure to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the health information it contains. 
 
· Is not a legal record unless so defined and, therefore, subject to various legal limitations.
 
The HIMSS PHR Steering Committee Chair, Dr. Holly Miller, CMIO, University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio explains that, "Third-party PHRs are not covered by HIPAA regulations, and therefore do not have to comply with standardized requirements regarding the privacy, security, and data usage of the personal health information (PHI) that is sent to them. 

HIMSS believes that healthcare consumers should have the right to control the movement of their data to such third party PHRs. Consumers have the right to know that currently, as there are no established privacy, security, and data usage standards governing such entities, there is no regulation requiring periodic oversight and audit ensuring that such entities comply with their own stated privacy, security and data usage standards.” 
 
Accordingly, HIMSS recommends that:
 
The public should be educated regarding any potential implications surrounding the exchange and usage of personal health information in the context of an ePHR.
 
All ePHR products should clearly, simply, and concisely list their security, privacy, and data usage policies and make them available in a consumer-friendly fashion.
 
Standards need to be established for the electronic data exchange and the privacy, data usage and security for personal health information with non-HIPAA covered ePHR products. 
 
There should be disinterested third-party validation and periodic compliance audits to ensure ePHR products’ compliance with their stated policies. 
 
Once industry standards are established, ePHR products that are found to be in compliance with the standards should receive a “seal of approval” to be prominently displayed at the consumer access point.
 
The purpose of the Personal Health Records Committee is to work with leaders from a multitude of healthcare backgrounds and experiences, as well as members of consumer based organizations and associations. The Steering Committee is focused on identifying key elements of a PHR, identifying barriers to adoption of PHRs and developing strategies for removing these barriers along with strategies aimed at increasing PHR adoption.

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