Personal Health Record (PHR) Experience and Recommendations for a Transformation in Saudi Arabia

A Personal Health Record (PHR) is a patient-managed platform for health data. Most hospitals provide a PHR as an extension of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). However, there are unresolved issues around the adoption rate, functionalities, barriers and, more importantly, the impact of the PHR on patients' health. A cross-sectional, survey-based descriptive study was conducted in which patients from four main tertiary hospitals in Saudi Arabia were targeted from September 2022 to February 2023. The survey was tested and validated to address the objectives of the study. The survey covered components related to intention to use the PHR, required functions, obstacles and expected outcomes. This study involved 396 participants from the top four hospitals. It was discovered that the majority of them had intentions to use the PHR (93%) and believed it to be useful (94%) and easy to use (94%). It was widely agreed that accessing medical records (77%), scheduling appointments (88%), renewing medication (90%), tracking patient data (70%) and receiving personalized education (78%) were essential aspects of the PHR. Furthermore, the survey revealed that 54% of respondents saw a positive effect on their health status. A significant number of participants, around 54%, expressed concerns about the privacy of their PHR, and 46% reported concerns about the accuracy of their information. The study found that demographic factors and the type of hospital did not have a statistically significant association with the intention to use the PHR. Our findings showed that there were no significant barriers to adopting the PHR. Additionally, we found that less than half of the participants believed that their current PHR helped them to improve their health. This highlights the need for healthcare organizations to focus on improving the PHR's functionality and overall purpose. Instead of simply providing basic features, the PHR should allow patients to manage their health information comprehensively, including compiling information from hospitals and patient-generated data. Having a PHR is crucial in improving an individual's overall health. As technology advances, more data are being generated that should be included in the PHR to ensure an accurate and comprehensive view of the patient's health. Expanding the scope of the PHR to include capabilities beyond merely hospital data is important. Achieving this requires an open and honest discussion about the role of the PHR, potential obstacles and how to coordinate efforts among different stakeholders.