Wednesday, September 03, 2008

If you build it, will they come?

The Michigan Business Review reports today that
An estimated 70 million people do have access to basic personal health records through their health insurers, with millions more scheduled to receive the service this year, according to health care benefit company Aetna.

A July 2007 survey by the Financial Planning Association and Aetna found that 64 percent of respondents said they didn't know what a personal health record was and of those who did, only 11 percent said they were currently using one.

Why aren't people more interested in personal health records? Are there any studies on that? Perhaps people don't consider PHR's a priority because they are basically satisfied with their health status. Perhaps people are concerned about the security of PHRs. A recent Harris Poll found that "four percent or an estimated nine million American adults believe that they or a family member have had confidential personal medical information either lost or stolen." It appears to be an uphill battle to gain consumer acceptance of PHRs.

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