PHR Adoption. Same Old, Same Old.

A recent study regarding PHR adoption provides less than encouraging adoption by consumers, and its no surprise. Despite the fact that health and access to affordable health care is top of mind for most Americans, few people are changing their behaviors to adopt PHRs. And its little surprise. We're now well into the second decade of Internet related technology, and although health care solutions are quickly growing, they're not on a parallel track with so many other Internet solutions in other verticals. Two early leaders (and I am reluctant to categorize Microsoft as a leader in Internet solutions, let alone health care) were Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health. Each partnered with an impressive health care provider; Google with the Cleveland Clinic and Microsoft with the Mayo Clinic. Neither product integrated on any scalable way with any EMR, but required consumers to upload their own medical records and share with physicians. What we know about human behavior and online solutions tells us that that won't work. Unless you're one of the 15 percent who are chronically ill and cost the system over 70 percent of dollars spent on treatment, you aren't likely to spend much time self-reporting or digitizing health records. In fact, there's no evidence that the chronically ill are doing so. Health records must be integrated, shared and accessible easily, and this isn't the case with any PHR. Until we make that transition to integration and mobile accessibility, it's doubtful that we'll see any benefit with consumer related health care technology. Success can be seen with any social media and data sharing mobile technology, such as Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, Yelp, etc.... The most successful health care solutions online that see widespread consumer adoption are social media sites such as WebMD and Internet Brands numerous properties, but not because they are best in breed, but because they provide content that is relevant through search and interaction. I liken the current offerings to the car sale web sites of the late '90s; they weren't great or sustainable, but they were better than buying a car through the abhorrent process of a dealership visit. The good news is that it's all upside. As health care solutions follow the trajectory of online solutions for other industry verticals, we'll see greater adoption of them and the behavior that they purport; producing healthier people.