Moving PHRs from Static Repositories of Information to Dynamic, Interactive Applications: Project HealthDesign releases findings and resources from initial phase

Publication Date: June 2009

Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

The work products and final report from the initial phase of Project HealthDesign are currently available for download. The report captures key learnings from the work of the program’s first nine grantee teams, as well as from its efforts to develop a common platform and explore the ethical, legal and social issues tied to next-generation personal health records (PHRs). We are pleased to also release all of the open, sharable source code and other technical code documentation produced by the grantee teams in developing their PHR application prototypes.

Launched in 2006 and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with additional support from the California HealthCare Foundation, Project HealthDesign developed interoperable PHR systems that provided a range of flexible tools that best supported individuals’ needs and preferences. In the first phase of Project HealthDesign, nine multidisciplinary teams worked closely with end users to design a variety of tools and services that draw on clinical records and relevant health data generated in the course of people’s daily lives – observations like sleep, diet, exercise, mood and adherence to medication regimens.

The source codes and other final materials archived on the Web site, including planning documents, interviews with end users and videos and diagrams of the grantees’ PHR application prototypes, are being released so that they may be used in the design of other interoperable PHR tools and applications in the future.

Although the first phase of the project has wrapped up, Project HealthDesign will continue to explore observations of daily living (ODLs) through a second round of funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio. Grantee teams selected for the next phase of the project will work closely with patients and providers to assess and test the potential of ODLs to help them work together to better manage chronic illnesses. Specifically, the teams will demonstrate how information from everyday life can be collected, interpreted and integrated into the clinical care process.