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Healthc Inform Res > Volume 15(3); 2009 > Article
Journal of Korean Society of Medical Informatics 2009;15(3):273-384.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4258/jksmi.2009.15.3.273    Published online September 30, 2009.
The Consumers' Perceptions and Requirements for Personal Health Records in Korea
Sun Young Kim1, Hye Ryung Kim1, Jae Bong Bae1, Yoon Kim1,2,3
1Center for Interoperable EHR, Korea.
2Department of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Korea.
3Institute of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Korea.
Correspondence:  Yoon Kim,
Received: 1 July 2009
Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify factors influencing the willingness of healthcare consumers to use personal health records (PHR) and to investigate the requirements for PHR services.

Methods: A face-to-face interview was conducted with 400 healthcare consumers from the 3rd-18thof July 2008 using a structured questionnaire. To identity factors affecting the willingness to use PHR and to pay for PHR services, logistic regression analysis was performed. To investigate the requirements for PHR services according to the willingness of the consumers to use PHR and to pay for PHR services, t-test analysis was conducted.

Results: Of the 400 healthcare consumers, 239 (59.8%) were willing to use PHR and 111 (27.8%) were willing to pay for PHR services. The willingness to use PHR was higher in the elderly, those with a disease, and those with experience to use health information on the Internet, and the willingness to pay for PHR services was higher in those with a relatively high income (p<0.05). The willingness to use PHR was approximately 13.5 (95% CI=1.43-126.55) and 3 times (95% CI=1.18-8.74) higher in those with average monthly household incomes >6,000,000 won and 4,500,000-6,000,000 won, respectively, than in those earning <1,500,000 won, and approximately 1.96 times (95% CI=1.18-3.27) higher in those with experience using health information on the Internet than in those without experience. The willingness to pay for PHR services was approximately 5.9 times (95% CI=1.84-19.06) higher in those with an income of 4,500,000-6,000,000 won than in those with an income <1,500,000 won (p<0.05). Demands for test results, medication history, family history, problem list, genetic information, clinical trial information, and social history were significantly higher in those with a willingness to use PHR and those with a willingness to pay for PHR services than in those without willingness to use PHR and those without a willingness to pay for PHR services (p<0.05). Compared to those without a willingness to pay for PHR services, those with a willingness to pay for PHR services showed a significantly higher demand for all the functions (p<0.01).

Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that healthcare consumers potentially have a considerable demand for PHR services, and although it is not recognized and used widely yet, PHR is an essential service. In order to enhance people's awareness of PHR and to promote people to use PHR services, we need efforts and initiatives to execute campaigns and education for people to ease access to the service, and to reduce the gap in service utilization skills.

Key Words: EHR, Electronic Health Records, Personal Health Records, Personal Health Records System, PHR, u-Health


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