What is a PHR? :: Metavante

So what does a PHR do?

Personal Health Record functionality varies based on the type and brand of PHR you choose. At a minimum, a PHR enables an individual to record personal medical history information, more advanced PHRs include the ability to store attachments such as images, link to helpful information, graph and trend data, and print reports. PHRs can be tracked on paper, on a computer, online, on a portable device, or a hybrid device.

Metavante’s HealthManager is one of the most robust hyrbrid PHR’s on the market, enabling individuals to track medications, prescriptions, graph lab values, store medical images, create reports, including a wallet emergency card, and set and receive reminders.

A PHR is an application that enables individuals to be more active partners in his/her health care. Whether keeping yourself active and healthy, managing a chronic condition, or caring for a loved one, a PHR is a tool you simply cannot afford to be without!

Why is a PHR important?

Healthcare today is facing many critical challenges. One of the biggest is the lack of electronic information. In fact over 85% of the doctors in the US manage health care information on paper, which means the information is not wherever you are, it is housed independently by each doctor or care provider you and your family have. So access to your health information is made difficult, especially in the event of an emergency. And as with any written document, handwriting can sometimes be difficult to read. In fact according to a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine, more Americans die from medical errors each year than breast cancer, automobile accidents, and even AIDS.

How do I keep a PHR?

There are several PHR options to choose from when deciding how to manage your personal health information:

Paper: The user records information on paper, or saves copies of documents.

PC-based Software: The software is installed on a home computer and the user enters, updates, and manages health information .This may interface with the Internet for linking to content and populating the record with information from participating providers.

Internet portal: The software resides on the Internet and users access it using a username and password from any computer with Internet access. Users may be able to link to content, populate the record with information from participating providers, and users may be able to grant access to others.

Portable Device: Portable devices could include a USB device, smart card, personal organizer, or a mobile phone.

Hybrid - Desktop or Portable application interfaced with an Internet Portal with USB: The desktop or portable PHR connects directly to the Internet for exchanging, storing, or managing health information. This enables you the consumer to use the application that best suits your needs, and provides the greatest advantage for ensuring your health information is available when and where you need it.

How can Metavante help me?

Metavante is an industry leader in PHRs, offering one of the first-ever personal health management applications, which was developed over 10 years ago. Formerly CapMed’s interactive personal health record, the Metavante HealthManager originated from an electronic record system for doctors — which means HealthManager is comprehensive, well-organized, easily shared with your providers, and best of all — easy to use! We continue to innovate the PHR application to ensure it meets your needs for privacy and security, managing any and all types of personal health and wellness information. With over one million PHRs in market, Metavante’s HealthManager is an excellent tool to help you more proactively manage your unique healthcare situation.

Click here to learn more about HealthManager, Metavante’s industry-leading personal health record solution.

"To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that, within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized," Obama said in a speech from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. "This will cut waste, eliminate red tape and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests."