A Real World Perspective: Employee Perspectives of Employer Sponsored Personal Health Record (PHR) Systems

Many employers now provide electronic personal health records (PHR) to employees as part of a free or low cost health benefit program. This paper reports findings from a survey distributed to employees of a large U.S. corporation. The survey focused on identifying employee concerns and expectations from an employer sponsored PHR system and to help understand the utilization and adoption of PHR systems sponsored by the employer. Despite some past research showing significant demand for PHR products across the general public, especially those that are offered for free, responses indicated many barriers. Participants responded with their concerns and expectations prior to using the system as well as their difficulty or ease of use. Key issues are discussed, including current and future role of employers in the PHR marketplace, including the need to "tether" these offerings to larger health care provider networks in order for employees to realize the value added.