Want to Know More About PHRs?

With hundreds of options, how do you choose a personal health record (PHR), assuming you're so inclined? Here are some suggestions.

For general information:

The American Health Information Management Association runs myPHR.com, a Web site that provides information on personal health records. The site lists PHRs by type -- online, paper or software-based -- and by whether there's a charge for the service. More on that below.

Read the privacy policies closely. Visitors to myPHR.com can also download medical history forms, which they can print out and carry with them if they don't want to use online PHRs.

Some government agency Web sites also offer basic information on PHRs. See Medicare's site at http://www.medicare.gov/PHR/Overview.asp. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has a video about PHRs at http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/phrvid.htm.

Where to look for free PHRs:

Some nonprofit medical associations have joined with for-profit companies to offer free online PHRs. The American Academy of Family Physicians, for example, has teamed up with Solventus, an electronic medical records company, to create the Consumer Empowerment National Demonstration PHR at http://www.cendphr.com. The easy-to-use PHR lets you input basic health data along with emergency contacts and insurance information. Similarly, the American Heart Association has teamed up with Microsoft HealthVault to allows its PHR users to track their blood pressure and other vital signs at the Blood Pressure Management Center.

Many insurers and employers offer free PHRs. Kaiser Permanente made its PHR, which links to its electronic medical records of doctors' visits and lab results, available to all of its members. Check with your insurance provider or employer for more information.

Why pay for a PHR?

Some fee-for-service options, like some offered by SmartPHR ( http://www.thesmartphr.com), include assistance from support staff -- both technical advisers and medical experts -- to help set up the PHR and to help manage your health needs. A high-end option allows up to 50 users, such as doctors and family members, to access your records and can be tailored to certain chronic conditions. SmartPHR says it voluntarily complies with HIPAA protections, meaning your health information won't be shared in any way that would link it to your identity.

Microsoft partner CapMed also offers PHRs for a fee, typically through hospitals, insurers or employers. But consumers can also sign up at CapMed.com. Its PHRs are available in CD and USB versions for people wary of putting health information online. CapMed also recently introduced icePHR Mobile, which puts information on users' cellphones and can be accessed by medical personnel in the event of an emergency.

-- Michael S. Gerber