what is the difference between a personal health record and patient portal?

by Kim Becker 8 min read

The Difference Between Patient Portals and Personal …

24 hours ago  · What is the difference between patient portals and personal health records? Patient Health Records. A tethered PHR is an online interface that is directly tied to an electronic health record (EHR), and it allows patients to view and interact with their health data. For example, a patient would be able to quickly see their immunization history or lab results, or due … >> Go To The Portal


Another difference is that information in a personal health record is encrypted, which means that unauthorized users cannot read it. However, patient portals do not use encryption technology and can therefore be accessed by anyone with the appropriate login credentials. Benefits of Using Both Types of Medical Record Systems

The Portal is controlled by the source system (EMR/EHR/Hospital). On the other hand, the Personal Health Record (PHR) is more patient centric, is controlled by a patient or family member, and may or may not be connected to a doctor or hospital (i.e. it may be tethered or untethered).Sep 6, 2012

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How do patient portals and personal health records differ?

 · What is the difference between patient portals and personal health records? Patient Health Records. A tethered PHR is an online interface that is directly tied to an electronic health record (EHR), and it allows patients to view and interact with their health data. For example, a patient would be able to quickly see their immunization history or lab results, or due …

What are the pros and cons of personal health records?

 · But EHRs contain more extensive information because they're used by health care providers to store visit notes, test results and much more. A PHR that is tied to an EHR is called a patient portal. In some but not all cases you can add information, such as home blood pressure readings, to your record via a patient portal.

How to get your patients to use your patient portal?

 · Patient portals enable patients to communicate with their healthcare provider online, while personal health records store a patient’s medical history electronically. One of the main differences between these two solutions is that any healthcare provider can access a personal health record.

How to access patient portal?

 · Patient portals and personal health records (PHRs) have both received considerable praise for their role in increasing patient engagement. However, distinguishing between the two forms of health IT tools can often be difficult, due to nebulous definitions and overlapping features. Patient portals give users an online view of their health data, as do PHRs. …

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What makes the patient portal different from a PHR?

Patient portals are distinct from PHRs because they are tethered to the clinician-facing EHR. Most EHR vendors sell patient portals as a part of the overall software suite, and patient portals came to prominence as a part of meaningful use requirements.

What is the purpose of patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Recent doctor visits.

What is in a personal health record?

A personal health record (PHR) refers to the collection of an individual's medical documentation maintained by the individual themselves, or a caregiver, in cases where patients are unable to do so themselves. This personal information includes details such as: The patient's medical history. Applicable diagnoses.

What is a patient portal called?

A patient portal is a website for your personal health care. The online tool helps you to keep track of your health care provider visits, test results, billing, prescriptions, and so on. You can also e-mail your provider questions through the portal. Many providers now offer patient portals.

What are the disadvantages of patient portals?

Even though they should improve communication, there are also disadvantages to patient portals....Table of ContentsGetting Patients to Opt-In.Security Concerns.User Confusion.Alienation and Health Disparities.Extra Work for the Provider.Conclusion.

What are the different types of patient portals?

There are two main types of patient portals: a standalone system and an integrated service. Integrated patient portal software functionality usually comes as a part of an EMR system, an EHR system or practice management software. But at their most basic, they're simply web-based tools.

What is the difference between EHR and PHR?

What's the Difference? Whereas an electronic health record (EHR) is a computer record that originates with and is controlled by doctors, a personal health record (PHR) can be generated by physicians, patients, hospitals, pharmacies, and other sources but is controlled by the patient.

What is a PHR in healthcare?

A personal health record (PHR) is an emerging health information technology that individuals can use to engage in their own health care to improve the quality and efficiency of that care.

What is the meaning of PHR?

Personal Health RecordA Personal Health Record, or PHR, is an electronic application through which patients can maintain and manage their health information.

Why do patients not use patient portals?

About seven in 10 individuals cited their preference to speak with their health care provider directly as a reason for not using their patient portal within the past year. About one-quarter of individuals who did not view their patient portal within the past year reported concerns about privacy and security..

How do I create a personal health record?

A personal health record (PHR) contains all of your important medical records such as your family medical history and your patient health history....How to create a personal health recordGet medical records from your doctor. ... Review your records, find + fix mistakes. ... Compile your records in one location + maintain them.

What are the benefits of patient portals or applications for record sharing?

Helps patients better understand and remember information about their medical condition and care plan, and gives patients the opportunity to review information when and where it is convenient for them. Bolsters patient adherence to healthcare advice, reinforces positive behaviours.

What are the benefits and challenges of using patient portals?

What are the Top Pros and Cons of Adopting Patient Portals?Pro: Better communication with chronically ill patients.Con: Healthcare data security concerns.Pro: More complete and accurate patient information.Con: Difficult patient buy-in.Pro: Increased patient ownership of their own care.

What do hospitals patient portals enable patients to do?

What do hospitals' patient portals enable patients to do? Schedule appointments, order prescription refills, ask questions, and view test results.

What are the features of a patient portal?

Patients choose their top 7 portal featuresScheduling appointments online.Viewing health information (e.g., lab results or clinical notes)Viewing bills/making payments.Checking prescription refills/requests.Filling out pre-visit forms (e.g., intake form)Sending messages to my care (healthcare provider) team.More items...•

What are the benefits of patient portals or applications for record sharing?

Helps patients better understand and remember information about their medical condition and care plan, and gives patients the opportunity to review information when and where it is convenient for them. Bolsters patient adherence to healthcare advice, reinforces positive behaviours.

What is a patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: 1 Recent doctor visits 2 Discharge summaries 3 Medications 4 Immunizations 5 Allergies 6 Lab results

How can accessing health records improve health literacy?

According to a report published by AHIMA, patients who access their health information via any form of personal health record can improve their health literacy, giving them the power to make their own health decisions and engage in meaningful conversations with providers. “Patients who have accessed their medical records have reported ...

What are the issues with PHRs?

Both standalone and tethered PHRs present issues with patient-generated health data. Providers express trust issues with PGHD, stating that potentially inaccurate patient data can inform a detrimental treatment plan.

What is a tethered PHR?

The ONC’s definition of a tethered PHR is very similar to the definition that the agency provides for patient portals: A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection.

What is patient data management?

Patient data management is the major distinguishing factor associated with standalone PHRs. The system is entirely patient-controlled, and providers can only view the data when their patients provide them access.

How does PHR help patients?

Other studies have also indicated that patient data access via PHR or patient portal can help improve outcomes. Patients who can review and revise clinician notes can see better patient safety outcomes, for example.

Why did Google Health die?

While there were multiple factors that may have led to Google Health’s demise, limited provider interaction with the data and few motivational components were arguably most significant.

What is electronic health records?

Electronic personal health records (PHRs) remedy that problem by making your information accessible to you anytime via web-enabled devices, such as computers, smartphones and tablets.

What is the difference between a PHR and an EHR?

But EHRs contain more extensive information because they're used by health care providers to store visit notes, test results and much more. A PHR that is tied to an EHR is called a patient portal. In some but not all cases you can add information, such as home blood pressure readings, to your record via a patient portal.

Why is a PHR important?

If you see multiple doctors and they don't use the same EHR system , a PHR is a good way to keep all of your health information in one place. A PHR also empowers you to manage your health between visits. For example, a PHR enables you to: Track and assess your health.

What are the concerns of PHRs?

Perhaps the most common concerns about PHRs are about privacy and security. To address these issues, reputable PHR systems follow industry best practices, such as making their privacy policies public and submitting to monitoring by independent organizations. In addition, federal laws have been put in place to protect the security of personal health information.

What is included in a PHR?

In general, your PHR needs to include anything that helps you and your doctors manage your health — starting with the basics: Your doctor's names and phone numbers. Allergies, including drug allergies. Your medications, including dosages. List and dates of illnesses and surgeries.

What is the medical ID on iPhone?

You could use an app such as the Health app for iPhones, which includes Medical ID, which makes critical information available via the lock screen for use by first responders in an emergency. Medical ID can display medical conditions, allergies, medications, blood type and emergency contacts. You can also use it to indicate if you're registered to be organ donor.

Can a primary care doctor use a patient portal?

If your primary care doctor offers a patient portal, use it. The staff at the front desk should be able to tell you how to register for it. (If your doctor doesn't offer one, ask if one will be available in the future.) Then start taking advantage of its features. Most portals offer the following:

What is a patient portal?

A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection. Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as: Some patient portals also allow patients to:

What is patient data management?

Patient data management is the major distinguishing factor associated with standalone PHRs. The system is entirely patient-controlled, and providers can only view the data when their patients provide them access.

What is a tethered PHR?

A tethered PHR, as defined by the ONC, is an online interface tied to an EHR with which patients may view and sometimes interact with their health data.

What are the issues with PHRs?

Both standalone and tethered PHRs present issues with patient-generated health data. Providers express trust issues with PGHD, stating that potentially inaccurate patient data can inform a detrimental treatment plan.

How does a PHR help patients?

Other studies have also indicated that patient data access via PHR or patient portal can help improve outcomes.

What are health IT developers working on?

Health IT developers are working on overcoming these interoperability barriers.Some vendors, such as Epic Systems, have made significant progress integrating patient portal information from multiple providers.

How can accessing health information improve health literacy?

According to a report published by AHIMA, patients who access their health information via any form of personal health record can improve their health literacy, giving them the power to make their own health decisions and engage in meaningful conversations with providers.

What is the difference between a patient portal and a PHR?

The patient is provided with a secure login and can view results or clinical information and interact with healthcare providers by submitting messages, booking appointments, or requesting medication renewals. The Portal is controlled by the source system (EMR/EHR/Hospital). On the other hand, the Personal Health Record (PHR) is more patient centric, is controlled by a patient or family member, and may or may not be connected to a doctor or hospital (i.e. it may be tethered or untethered). Information in the PHR is shared at the discretion of the patient.

What is a patient portal?

patient portal is a platform where patients can inetract with the doctor and can share their health related problem with them. PHR is a Personal Health Record (PHR) portal to manage health information of patients. We can store our current and past medications, lab results, records and track progress using the built in reports. mediklik site is very useful site for me to manage my Personal Health Record.

How does PHR help clinicians?

Moreover, PHRs can benefit clinicians. PHRs offer patients the opportunity to submit their data to their clinicians’ EHRs. This helps clinicians make better treatment decisions by providing more continuous data. I have used a free online PHR, which is very useful for us, please have a look. http://www.mediklik.com

Why pass control over to patients?

Passing control for certain tasks over to patients can reduce telephone calls and other administrative workloads in practices, e.g. view own lab results and reports.

Is a PHR a patient centric record?

On the other hand, the Personal Health Record (PHR) is more patient centric, is controlled by a patient or family member, and may or may not be connected to a doctor or hospital (i.e. it may be tethered or untethered). Information in the PHR is shared at the discretion of the patient. The above description is quite simplistic and based upon ...

Is InEmpathy.org feasible?

InEmpathy.org | It´s bold. It´s feasible. It´s focused on Why Healthcare Needs the Internet of Things

Can PHR and EHR be combined?

The above description is quite simplistic and based upon the manner in which these tools have generally been developed; however, PHRs and Patient Portals are now beginning to merge both capabilities into a single product. For example, an EHR vendor or hospital system may offer a patient portal that is accessed through a browser as well as a PHR that is under the control of the patient. The key differentiation is control. In the PHR, a patient controls who has access to their data vs. the EMR and EHR, in which the provider or health organization controls the information.

Electronic Medical Records

Electronic medical records (EMRs) are digital versions of the paper charts in clinician offices, clinics, and hospitals. EMRs contain notes and information collected by and for the clinicians in that office, clinic, or hospital and are mostly used by providers for diagnosis and treatment.

Electronic Health Records

Electronic health records (EHRs) are built to go beyond standard clinical data collected in a provider’s office and are inclusive of a broader view of a patient’s care.

Personal Health Records

Personal health records (PHRs) contain the same types of information as EHRs—diagnoses, medications, immunizations, family medical histories, and provider contact information—but are designed to be set up, accessed, and managed by patients.

For More Information

For more information on EMR s, EHR s, and PHR s, see the following resources.

What is a patient portal?

A patient portal is a type of personal health record (PHR) that is connected to an electronic health record (EHR) system. Patient portals provide a secure website through which patients can access their clinical data. They are a key component of most EHR architectures and an important focus of meaningful use because of their potential to streamline the delivery of patient-centered health care. Features of patient portals may include secure messaging, after-visit summaries, medication lists, allergy lists, laboratory results, and appointment scheduling. When used effectively, patient portals can empower consumers by enabling active management of their own care. However, we know little about how patient portal use fits into the broader personal health information management (PHIM) practices of various groups, such as older adults.

What are the two themes of patient portals?

From the interviews, two themes emerged with regard to patient portals: ‘facilitators,’ characterisitcs, uses or other attributes that encouraged or eased utilization of a patient portal, and ’barriers,’ individual or systems level obstacles to patient portal use.

How do patient portals empower consumers?

When used effectively, patient portals can empower consumers by enabling active management of their own care. However, we know little about how patient portal use fits into the broader personal health information management (PHIM) practices of various groups, such as older adults.

What are the challenges of using PHRs?

examined views of family practice physicians and staff about the benefits, barriers, and use of PHRs by older adults, in relation to medication use4. They concluded that the family practice physicians did not have a complete understanding of the benefits that PHRs can offer patients. Several studies highlight the challenges that older adults face when using PHRs, such as physical or cognitive limitations and low computer literacy5. Providers have also raised concern that use of PHRs could introduce privacy risks to patients4. Other providers worry that older adults may be especially vulnerable to “getting scammed”4while using electronic or online PHRs.

How many days a week do portal users use computers?

Our preliminary anaysis found that most portal users (93%) reported using a computer 6–7 days per week and 47% rated themselves as “very experienced” computer users. All reported having learned to use a computer 10 or more years ago and having Internet access where they live. In contrast, the majority of portal nonusers reported having used computers less than 6 days per week (30%) or not all all (36%), 25% lacked Internet access where they lived, and 19% reported they had not learned to use a computer. Among the 52 particpants (portal users and nonusers) who use computers, the most common use of computers was emailing and browsing the Internet.

How old are Portal users?

Portal users ranged in age from 61 to 93 years , and most lived independently in a private residence (60%) and had college education or higher (67%). Although portal nonusers were similar in age, fewer were college educated (53%) and more lived in retirement or assisted living facilities (74%).

Why is it important to understand consumer health information?

Important to the success of the consumer health movement is accurate, accessible, and understandable health information to assist with treatment and health decisions . Older adults are the largest consumers of health care and expend the greatest proportion of US health care dollars.

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What Is A Personal Health Record?

What Is A Patient Portal?

  • Patient portals are distinct from PHRs because they are tethered to the clinician-facing EHR. Most EHR vendors sell patient portals as a part of the overall software suite, and patient portals came to prominence as a part of meaningful use requirements. Patient portals, like PHRs, facilitate patient data access by granting patients unfettered acces...
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Comparing Phrs Versus Patient Portals

  • PHRs and patient portals generally accomplish the same goals: they facilitate patient data access, which some experts say can help boost patient engagement. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, patient data access can also help consumers navigate everyday life; they offer quick access to vaccination records or COVID-19 test results. That begs the question: should patients have a PH…
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Is The Time Ripe For Patient Data Access?

  • Regardless of the medium, some experts say healthcare is entering an age of patient data access. As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the nation, patients became more curious about their health. That curiosity, coupled with the care delays prompted by the initial pandemic shutdowns, brought many to explore where they are with their health, wellness, and preventive services—something t…
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