NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ - Palo Alto, CA, United States, 2007/04/30 - The new study from Frost & Sullivan, Opportunity and Trends in the U.S Personal Health Records Markets, presents a technical overview of personal health records and discusses important trends that are occurring in various distribution channels.

Although the personal health records (PHR) market is still in the emerging phase, rapidly growing interest in these solutions is driving uptake. As customer awareness of PHR solutions increase, so will its accessibility.

The new study from Frost & Sullivan (healthcareIT.frost.com), Opportunity and Trends in the U.S Personal Health Records Markets, presents a technical overview of personal health records and discusses important trends that are occurring in various distribution channels.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants an overview of the latest analysis of the Opportunity and Trends in the U.S Personal Health Records Markets, then send an email to Melina Trevino - Corporate Communications at melina.trevino[.]frost.com with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, email address, city, state, and country. We will send you the information via email upon receipt of the above information.

“With the current focus on personal health records within the healthcare industry, employers, health insurers, and healthcare providers are increasingly interested in making these products potentially available to their respective constituencies as an essential part of their competitive strategies,” says Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Matthew Guldin. “Vendors that only offered their products directly to customers are now looking at providing them through alternative distribution channels as well.”

Although adoption rates are set to grow, vendors do need to take aggressive steps to promote awareness and convince end users of the distinct value of PHR solutions. Hurricane Katrina proved the fragility of the traditional paper records and confirmed the advantage of having a robust health information infrastructure that captures and stores personal health information electronically.

While PHRs do present possibilities of improving the quality and safety of the healthcare system by increasing the coordination of care and empowering patients, users are also wary of others learning about their personal health information, and allowing others parties besides their provider access to their personal health information.

Vendors critically need to allay these fears regarding privacy and confidentiality by building public confidence regarding the safety of personal health information. It is also essential for PHR vendors to design distinct solutions to serve the needs of different customers and clinical conditions, such as, developing relationships with organizations that directly address the concerns of these target groups.

“Moreover, vendors can overcome the current lack of information portability and inconsistencies in PHR’s usability by leveraging existing data standards and best practices for health literacy, cultural competency, and user-centered design,” concludes Guldin.

The Opportunity and Trends in the U.S Personal Health Records Markets, is part of the Healthcare and Life Sciences IT Growth Partnership Service. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews are available to the press.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective, and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics.

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