Personal Health Record Use Ups Cancer Follow-Up Rate to 86%

By Sara Heath

Researchers at the Regenstrief Institute, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Indiana University observed an increase of more than 30 percentage points in follow-up care and screening among colorectal cancer survivors related to their use of personal health records (PHRs). According to the researchers, "PHRs have the potential to engage patients with cancer and cancer survivors to play a more active role in their surveillance care and to increase self-efficacy and knowledge about surveillance. Providing patients access to their own health information, management strategies, web-based resources, and communication tools with providers can increase self-management and the quality of patient-provider communication, which lead to better patient outcomes." The study included 28 colorectal cancer survivors who used a PHR system specifically designed for survivors of colorectal cancer. The system was tethered to the patients' electronic health records and offered secured messaging and patient notification functions. Access to colonoscopy surged to 84% from 52% after introduction to the PHR, and CT access jumped to 86% from 67%. Eric Vachon, PhD, RN, of the Regenstrief Institute said the findings could be replicable for other types of cancer. He said, "The general framework that we've taken with colorectal cancer survivors is one that can serve as a guide for designing technologies for other cancer populations or types of cancer. But, in my experience, the clinical details and unique needs of different types of cancer require different approaches."

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