Barriers to the use of a personal health record by an elderly population.

Abstract

Personal health records(PHRs) are proposed as a strategy to make health care delivery increasingly patient-centered. Yet little work has been done in understanding the workflows of patients in their own homes, or influence of access, cognitive, physical, or literacy barriers on workflow and outcomes of using health records. Many populations may require assistance in using PHRs to improve their health out-comes. We studied PHR use by an elderly and disabled population and describe those barriers encountered by our patients.