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. 2023 Oct;29(4):386-393.
doi: 10.4258/hir.2023.29.4.386. Epub 2023 Oct 31.

Evaluating the Landscape of Personal Health Records in Korea: Results of the National Health Informatization Survey

Kyehwa Lee  1 , Yura Lee  1 , Jae-Ho Lee  1   2
Affiliations

Evaluating the Landscape of Personal Health Records in Korea: Results of the National Health Informatization Survey

Kyehwa Lee et al. Healthc Inform Res. 2023 Oct.

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the adoption and utilization of personal health records (PHR) across Korean medical institutions using data from the 2020 National Health and Medical Informatization Survey.

Methods: Spearheaded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and prominent academic societies, this study surveyed PHR utilization in 574 medical institutions.

Results: Among these institutions, 84.9% (487 hospitals) maintained medical portals. However, just 14.1% (81 hospitals) had web-based or mobile PHRs, with 66.7% (28 of 42) of tertiary care hospitals adopting them. Tertiary hospitals led in PHR services: 87.8% offered certification issuance, 51.2% provided educational information, 63.4% supported online payment, and 95.1% managed appointment reservations. In contrast, general and smaller hospitals had lower rates. Online medical information viewing was prominent in tertiary hospitals (64.3%). Most patients accessed test results via PHRs, but other data types were less frequent, and only a few allowed downloads. Despite the widespread access to medical data through PHRs, integration with wearables and biometric data transfers to electronic medical records remained low, with limited plans for expansion in the coming three years.

Conclusions: Approximately two-thirds of the surveyed medical institutions provided PHRs, but hospitals and clinics in charge of community care had very limited PHR implementation. Government-led leadership is required to invigorate the use of PHRs in medical institutions.

Keywords: Continuity of Patient Care; Electronic Health Records; Medical Informatics; Patient Participation; Personal Health Records.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Adoption status of personal health records (PHRs) according to hospital category.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Status of data transmission through personal health records by hospital category. EMR: electronic medical record.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of the types of clinical data transferred from electronic medical records to personal health records by hospital category. TH: tertiary hospital, GH: general hospital, HS: hospital.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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