Personal Health Record - Essay Example

PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD What are the advantages to PHRs? Personal health records are of great importance to the patientsespecially in ensuring the quality of health is improved (Hebda, & Czar, 2013). Below are some of the advantages: PHR combines and coordinates information from multiple providers. This enables an improvement in care coordination. PHR also helps ensure availability of a patient’s health information. This is of importance especially the online PHR which can be used on emergencies Enhanced provider-patient communication.

The communication between the care providers and the patients are enhanced through the use of PHRs easening and fastening communication. What are ways that you may access the patients PHR? Patients Personal Health records can be accessed in the following ways (Hebda, & Czar, 2013): The Nurses can use a searchable information database that is linked to the PHR. As such they determine the best way to index the information. Additionally, the use of professional lexicon can be applied. Use of key words too can be applied.

What may be some obstacles that you encounter? Some of the obstacles encountered in use and access of PHR include: Cognitive barriers where some patients ability to use the computers were limited. Health literacy where a number of patients do not understand the contents of the Personal Health records. Visual impairments also made it difficult for some people to see the computer screen. In another cases the communication with between the patients and myself as a nurse was made more lengthy and due to hearing impairment (Hebda, & Czar, 2013).

Reference Hebda, T., & Czar, P. (2013). Handbook of informatics for nurses & healthcare professionals (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson