Please Draft a response to another persons discussion board post. Here is
the post you are responding to:
The Impact of Health Literacy on a Patient's Decision to Adopt a
Personal Health Record
Summary
I was happy to read that personal health records (PHR) are becoming more
and more popular. Along with popularity, they are also being more readily
available. A few of the factors that go into the thought process of a patient’s
decision to adopt a personal health record are: age, education level, income,
native language, and accessibility to internet. “Patients at risk for low health
literacy included the 52 percent who have a high school education or less, the
7 percent in the category of those 71 years or older, and the 59 percent in the
lowest income category of $20,000 or less” (Noblin, Wan, & Fottler). It was
interesting to learn that while this was considered the most at-risk category for
having low health literacy, research found it was indeed the opposite and
showed that this category held their thoughts of health literacy highly. I felt
that it made a great point and reminded me of Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge, or
you too will be judged”.
Insights
I found it interesting that one of the limitations of patients using a PHR, could
be the office staff. “Possible limitations included the consistency of the office
staff in explaining the purpose and importance of adopting the PHR to the
patient, including their attitude, positive or negative” (Noblin, Wan, & Fottler).
It makes sense if you think about it. If the office staff is not very involved in
explaining how a PHR works or if they don’t take the time to learn to explain
its importance I could see it effecting the patient negatively. If the patient
thinks it isn’t important I feel they are less likely to have interest. On the other
hand, if the office staff take the time to explain the PHR, answer any
questions the patient may have about it, and/or have an enthused attitude, I
could see that really effecting the patient positively. I read that some patients
wanted to provide good answers when they are happy with the care they
received and feel they are helping out. I thought of a child wanting to please
their parent, they might not be exactly sure what “good” is but they want their
parent to be happy. “Patients report that secure, password protected PHRs
give them confidence that they can access their personal health information
online and, as a result, they do pay more attention to their health” (Braunstein
pg.81). It makes sense that if patients feel empowered and protected, they are
more willing to adapt and work with a new system. While reading my textbook
I came across information of remote patient monitoring (RPM). “RPM is the
use of information technologies and communication networks to measure
physiological date from a location outside a clinic, such as home, and send
that information to health care professionals: (Shanholtzer & Ozanich, pg
262). Every day I see an example of this as a family member of mine has type
one diabetes. My family member wears a device that continuously tracks his
blood sugar and sends it to his endocrinology team. If we had to take the
family member to an office every time he needed his blood sugar checked, we
would probably end up moving into the office. Having this RPM option has
really improved care for diabetics.
Resources
Noblin, A.M., Wan. T. T., and Fottler, M. (2012). The impact of health literacy
on a patient’s decision to adopt a personal health record. Perspectives in
Health Information Management. Retrieved
from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC35106...
The Holy Bible. NLT. Retrieved from my.bible.com
Braunstein, M. L. (2014). Contemporary Health Informatics. Chicago, IL:
American Health Information Management Association.
Shanholtzer, M. B., & Ozanich, G. W. (2016). Health Information Management
and Technology. New York, NY: McGraw Hill
****************THIS IS THE ORIGINAL QUESTION THE STUDENT WAS
RESPONDUING TO: Topic: Participatory of Healthcare Informatics
Visit the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website and
read the article “The Impact of Health Literacy on a Patient’s Decision to
Adopt a Personal Health Record.” Provide a summary of your findings and
any insights you have gained in the review of the information.
The Impact of Health Literacy on a Patient's Decision to Adopt a Personal Health Record
Student’s Name
Institution’s Name
The Impact of Health Literacy on a Patient's Decision to Adopt a Personal Health Record
Summary
It is indeed correct to assert that in the future, the use of personal health records (PHR)
will be more common.
It is also true that health literacy plays a crucial role in influencing how a patient adopts
the use of health care records.
Insight
I realized that one of the major challenges for the adoption of PHR is difficulty in
understanding medical information. Therefore, age, level of income, and level of
education could
I agree that the adoption of PHR would help in reducing the number of visits a person
makes to a health facility (Noblin, Wan & Fottler, 2012).
Finally, similar to the post, I also noted that there should exist an adequate number of
office staff to help in explaining the importance as well as the purpose of integrating the
PHR in health care management.
Reference
Noblin, A. M., Wan, T. T., & Fottler, M. (2012). The impact of health literacy on a patient's
decision to adopt a personal health record. Perspectives in health information
management, 9(Fall), 1–13.
The Holy Bible. NLT. Retrieved from my.bible.com
Running head: THE IMPACT OF HEALTH LITERACY ON A PATIENT'S DECISION TO
ADOPT A PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD 1
The Impact of Health Literacy on a Patient's Decision to Adopt a Personal Health Record
Student’s Name
Institution’s Name
THE IMPACT OF HEALTH LITERACY ON A PATIENT'S DECISION TO ADOPT A
PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD 2
The Impact of Health Literacy on a Patient's Decision to Adopt a Personal Health Record
Summary
It is indeed correct to assert that in the future, the use of personal health records (PHR)
will be more common. This is because a majority of physicians are adopting electronic health
records (EHR) (Noblin, Wan & Fottler, 2012). In addition to what is in the post, I learnt that the
records are maintained by the patients, and, as such, they are not regarded as part of legal
medical records. Their main purpose is providing improved communication between the
physicians and the patients. This helps the patients to take part in the management of their health
and well-being by helping them understand the disease process and medication. As a result of
this involvement in important decision-making concerning their health, it leads to successful
self-management programs and overall improvement in their satisfaction with the health care
provided to them.
It is also true that health literacy plays a crucial role in influencing how a patient adopts
the use of health care records. Health literacy refers to the degree to which a person has the
capacity of obtaining, processing as well as understanding crucial information needed in making
a sound health decision (Noblin, Wan & Fottler, 2012). According to Noblin, Wan & Fottler,
(2012), low health literacy levels are likely to negatively influence the adoption of personal
health records as opposed to high literacy levels. In addition to this, the adoption and use of PHR
is also dependant on factors such as the availability of office staff that can do hands-on training
of the patients and help in interpreting the medical information. To realize the potential of PHRs,
users have to develop an understanding of health information as noted in the post.
Insight
I realized that one of the major challenges for the adoption of PHR is difficulty in
THE IMPACT OF HEALTH LITERACY ON A PATIENT'S DECISION TO ADOPT A
PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD 3
understanding medical information. Therefore, age, level of income, and level of education could
not be considered as key factors influencing the adoption of the PHR. This is because as noted by
Noblin, Wan & Fottler, (2012), individuals with a low level of education try compensating
mostly through seeking information through the personal health records format. In addition to
this, low-income earners were also noted to be interested in technology, and as such this could
not be listed as a factor for determining the adoption of PHR. However, the use of plain language
and glossary would help to facilitate the adoption of the PHR as it would improve the
understanding and interpretation of medical information to the patient. These observations are
similar to those in the post. They seem to debunk the myth that only the affluent, and highly
educated are able to effectively keep and use personal health records. This should caution people
on rushing to judge and is consistent with the teachings in Matthew 7:1, which notes that “Do not
judge, or you too will be judged”
I agree that the adoption of PHR would help in reducing the number of visits a person
makes to a health facility (Noblin, Wan & Fottler, 2012). This would help in reducing the cost of
health care and improve the living standards of people. This is because the PHR would help in
keeping a record of the daily health progress. As such, this would help in reducing frequent visits
to the emergency rooms and longer hospitalization periods. Moreover, it would help patients
with chronic illnesses such as diabetes to manage them. In my perspective, the use of PHR would
help in improving the quality of life for many individuals.
Finally, similar to the post, I also noted that there should exist an adequate number of
office staff to help in explaining the importance as well as the purpose of integrating the PHR in
health care management. This is because the PHR is maintained by the patient, which means that
the information provided may be biased due to fear, or desire to please their physicians (Noblin,
THE IMPACT OF HEALTH LITERACY ON A PATIENT'S DECISION TO ADOPT A
PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD 4
Wan & Fottler, 2012). As a result, this may affect the subsequent care given to the patients. For
example, a person may report positive progress whilst their health is deteriorating. The office
staff would thus help the patients to understand the importance of truthfulness whilst reporting
their progress, and this would help in ensuring positive progress.
THE IMPACT OF HEALTH LITERACY ON A PATIENT'S DECISION TO ADOPT A
PERSONAL HEALTH RECORD 5
Reference
Noblin, A. M., Wan, T. T., & Fottler, M. (2012). The impact of health literacy on a patient's
decision to adopt a personal health record. Perspectives in health information
management, 9(Fall), 1–13.
The Holy Bible. NLT. Retrieved from my.bible.com
