Design Guidelines for an Integrated PHR System: An Approach for UI Designers to Break Down Individual-Level Barriers to PHR Adoption

Abstract

The objective of this study is to analyze personal health records (PHR) and how they should be implemented from a primary user’s point of view. The significance of the quality of healthcare information has been recognized in the health care field. How will health information reach people, including patients, health care providers, employers, and etc? How can information flow seamlessly among systems in a secure environment? In the case of individuals, how can one access, manage and share his/her health information with authorized health providers? To answer those questions, PHR plays a crucial role here. User interface design is essential for improving the usability of interactive systems like PHRs. Creating design guidelines and principles for PHR systems is an emerging need due to the reality that in the current health care environment, multiple vendor systems coexist and each of them has unique styles and design constructs. Therefore, the UI responsibilities in the process of PHR system design must be recognized by UI designers who work in the related fields. In this study, two PHR applications are examined; rules will be applied to a PHR system design prototype to demonstrate how constructing and integrating of intuitive graphic design is carried out, and how to make PHRs more user-friendly by incorporating users’ daily activities into personal health decision making and medical care.