BUSINESS

An uphill climb for personal health records

Quick View. June 19, 2006.

What is the primary reason you have never used a PHR?
I have never heard of a PHR	52%
I would if my physician or other health care professional recommended it to me	18%
I don't seek much care and don't see the value	10%
I don't trust the security of the currently available Internet-based sites	10%
I don't want a written record of sensitive personal health information	4%
I don't want to spend the time to initially input and update the information	3%
Other	3%
For the 17% who had used a PHR: What is the primary reason you started to use it?
I or a member of my family experienced a health care event that showed me the importance of having the information available	27%
Recommended by my care provider	21%
I or a member of my family was diagnosed with a chronic disease or complicated health care issue	15%
Recommended by my health plan	11%
Recommended by an article, TV show or radio program	4%
Other	23%
For the non-users: If you are planning to use a PHR, when do you intend to start?
Uncertain	82%
I will never use a PHR	8%
Within the next 1 to 2 years	4%
Within the next 1 to 6 months	3%
Within the next 6 to 12 months	2%
Within the next 30 days	1%

Many in the health care industry and in the Bush administration are pushing health records created and maintained by patients as a way to improve care and lower costs.

But a survey released in May by Health Industry Insights, a unit of IDC, a Framingham, Mass.-based market research company, suggests that getting consumers onboard will be extremely challenging.

Of the 1,095 consumers who completed the survey, which has a 3% margin of error, 83% had never used a paper- or electronic-based PHR.

Source: IDC's Health Industry Insights