FROM THE FOUNDATION

The Social Life of Health Information

A new Pew Internet/CHCF national survey finds the Internet has joined doctors and family members as one of the top three ways people search for answer to their health care questions.

Evaluating One-e-App

CHCF and The California Endowment funded the development of One-e-App, a Web-based program that enables users to apply for multiple public insurance programs at once. Read a business case assessment by The Lewin Group.

Privacy, Security, and the Stimulus Bill

The recently enacted economic stimulus legislation includes a number of improvements to federal health privacy law. This brief looks at issues of privacy and security in the wake of ARRA.

EHRs and PHRs

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Research Teams Unveil Personal Health Record Application Prototypes

Yesterday, a $5 million Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program unveiled nine prototype applications for personal health records, AHA News reports (AHA News, 9/17).

The research teams participating in the Project HealthDesign initiative will publish details about their findings and work to implement their PHR applications in the clinical practices connected to their institutions. The projects include:

  • RTI International: A PHR designed to help sedentary adults become more active;
  • Stanford University and Art Center College of Design: Multimedia PHR tools aimed at helping adolescents with chronic illnesses communicate with their health care providers and others about their health;
  • T.R.U.E. Research Foundation: A PHR intended to help individuals with diabetes understand and track their self care;
  • University of California-San Francisco: A PHR aimed at helping breast cancer patients understand and coordinate their health care;
  • University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center: A portable touch screen tablet computer to help older patients with complex medication regimens;
  • University of Massachusetts Medical School: A PDA designed to help patients with chronic pain manage their medications;
  • University of Rochester: A prototype system aimed at providing patients with congestive heart failure with a "daily check-up";
  • University of Washington: A PHR that can help patients with diabetes record blood glucose levels and other data; and
  • Vanderbilt University: A PHR application aimed at helping children with cystic fibrosis manage their disease.

In addition, Project HealthDesign worked with a technical team from Sujansky & Associates to create and publish functional requirements and technical specification to enable different PHR applications to securely share data, with the consumer controlling who can access that information.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio funded University of Wisconsin-Madison-based Project HealthDesign. The California HealthCare Foundation provided additional support (Health Data Management, 9/17).

CHCF publishes iHealthBeat.



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