I’ve been working at PKB for more than 2 years, primarily with the academic community, where my mission has been, and still is, to support educators in enabling healthcare professionals of the future to be leaders in clinical transformation. A year ago, alongside this work, I embarked on my most significant project since joining the company: co-writing a book with PKB’s founder and CEO, Dr Mohammad Al-Abaydli. The book is called “Personal Health Records for Governments”, and as we celebrate PKB’s16th anniversary, we’re very excited to now open this up for input from the wider global community.
The website is live at phr4gov.org, providing a transparent view of our work so far. In this digital space, we embark on a comprehensive analysis of national health record platforms from various countries. Our exploration delves into the history of each country’s portal development, examines and compares their distinctive features, identifies areas of improvement, and presents outcomes and statistics on patients’ and professionals’ usage of the various platforms. Additionally, we provide a visual narrative with screenshots, offering readers an immersive experience into the world of global health data management.
Our book aims to be a valuable resource for governments and policymakers. By shedding light on the successes and challenges faced by different nations, we hope to foster a global dialogue that drives innovation and positive change.
We Want Your Input
As we continue to refine and expand our analysis on the ‘PHRs for Governments’ website, we recognize the challenges of obtaining accurate and detailed information, especially for countries where data may be scarce or hard to access. This is where we need your help! If you have insights, expertise, or access to information that can contribute to our analysis, we invite you to be a part of this initiative.
How You Can Contribute
Share Knowledge: If you have valuable information on a country’s national health record, share it with us. Your insights can make a significant impact on the depth and accuracy of our analysis.
Connect Us: If you have connections or contacts within healthcare communities, government agencies, or academic institutions, help us establish links to ensure a comprehensive understanding of each country’s health data landscape.
Beyond the technology
During our research, we found that development and adoption are two very different things. Having a great system from a technical point of view doesn’t necessarily ensure it will then be implemented and used widely. With our experience in the field of PHRs, we are aware of many challenges and reasons that can cause low adoption rates, and one of the most important is a gap in the education of healthcare professionals.
For this reason, a decade ago we started PKB’s Education Programme (patientsknowbest.com/education) where we offer our platform free of charge to institutions teaching healthcare students to support the teaching of remote consultation and patient management practices required in this digital era.
We are looking for any insights on progress – or otherwise – around the world.
Future
We believe that PHRs can only create clinical transformation when professionals are on board and educated to embrace a new system of working with patients. So it’s pertinent timing to release our book in the 10th anniversary year of our pro-bono Education Programme.
Our goal is to take a snapshot of the ‘PHRs for Governments’ website in May, releasing the initial version of the book in printed form. Simultaneously, we will keep the website alive as a dynamic, ongoing project, continually updated to reflect the latest insights from the world of national PHRs and developments.
Please do contact us with any contributions or to share your perspective at book@patientsknowbest.com