A personal health record (PHR) is one tool that can be used to increase patient participation and improve families’ engagement with their care. PHRs are collections of information pertinent to patients’ health, but they differ from EHRs in that they are typically set up and accessed by patients themselves.
A patient can log on to his own record and see the trend of the lab results over the last year, which can help motivate him or her to take medications and keep up with the lifestyle changes that have led to improved health.