[Personal health folder]

Personal Health Records shared between patients and their health team can improve the capacity of the patients to become active partners in the care of their own health. PHR can offer the patients access to their medical information, services, such as resources programming, or communication between the members of the health team and the patient. They could also allow patients themselves to directly register certain data, be picked up from home monitoring devices, thus becoming a very useful tool in the management of chronic disease and for the prevention and promotion of health. The Government of Catalonia is developing the Personal Health Folder, a space where the Health Department will give the people of Catalonia secure and confidential access to their health information. The Personal Health Folder is within the framework of the Catalonian Shared Clinical History project, which is based on a index system of medical records shared between different personnel, using interoperability tools and is in accordance with the legislation applicable in Catalonia and within its healthcare system. Within the framework of this project and these principles, the Personal Health Folder has the aim to give people responsibility for their own health, allowing them to take part in the management of the preventive actions and care, and to improve the quality of care, and coordination between the different health areas and professionals.