Integration of self-management tools in personal and provider e-health records

Development and evaluation of research-quality informatics tools for self-management support in personal and provider electronic health records (PHRs and EHRs) may improve patient outcomes by facilitating patient and provider education and communication around goal-setting, prompting consistent evidence-based treatment, and providing reminders and feedback. Nurses on primary care teams are well-positioned to advocate for self-management and monitor the use of these informatics tools. This paper presents a design for integrating goal-setting tools into PHRs and EHRs. Keeping in mind the potential of enhanced self-management support, challenges in basic issues such as user characteristics, practice traditions of data ownership and workflow, and financing are discussed.