Online J Public Health Inform. 2016 Dec 28;8(3):e205. doi: 10.5210/ojphi.v8i3.6845. eCollection 2016.
The Personal Health Record (PHR) is an electronic record that allows patients to maintain, manage and access their health information in one secure location. However, despite these potential capabilities, the adoption rate of the PHR has been slow due to various challenges.
This study, being the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia, investigates the perceived barriers and /or challenges for PHR adoption in the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNGHA). The study explored perceived barriers and /or challenges from two different perspectives; a technical perspective and a social perspective.
The study was conducted using a mixed methods approach. A cross-sectional study design using a questionnaire was used to measure patients' perceptions of the PHR and a qualitative approach through focus groups was used to capture comments and opinions from technical personnel for perceived technical barriers to PHR adoption.
Results from 424 patients revealed a positive perception for PHR adoption with almost all of the participants (96.7%) indicating interest in using the PHR and the majority (73.3%) expressing no confidentiality concerns for the online accessibility of their health information. Patients with higher levels of education indicated higher interest in using the PHR and expressed more concern with confidentiality than patients with lower levels of education. However, the majority of patients (78.3%) expressed their lack of awareness of existing patient e-services on the MNGHA website. The themes that emerged from the focus groups reinforced lack of awareness of e-services as a potential barrier for PHR adoption as well as the role of policy in the regulation and business process for PHR adoption.
This study has highlighted the perceived challenges and barriers for adoption of the PHR in MNGHA-Riyadh. In order to ensure an efficient PHR with a strong adoption rate, effective steps need to be undertaken by building PHR awareness as well as setting clear guidelines and regulations from policy makers.
个人健康记录（PHR）是一种电子记录，允许患者在一个安全的位置维护、管理和访问自己的健康信息。然而，尽管具有这些潜在功能，但由于各种挑战，PHR的采用率一直很低。
本研究是沙特阿拉伯首例此类研究，调查了国民警卫队卫生事务部（MNGHA）采用PHR的感知障碍和/或挑战。该研究从两个不同角度探讨了感知障碍和/或挑战；技术角度和社会角度。
本研究采用混合方法。使用问卷调查的横断面研究设计来衡量患者对PHR的看法，并通过焦点小组采用定性方法来收集技术人员对PHR采用的感知技术障碍的评论和意见。
424名患者的结果显示对采用PHR持积极看法，几乎所有参与者（96.7%）表示有兴趣使用PHR，大多数（73.3%）对其健康信息的在线可访问性不担心保密性。教育程度较高的患者表示对使用PHR的兴趣更高，并且比教育程度较低的患者更关注保密性。然而，大多数患者（78.3%）表示他们不知道MNGHA网站上现有的患者电子服务。焦点小组中出现的主题强化了对电子服务缺乏认识是PHR采用的潜在障碍以及政策在PHR采用的监管和业务流程中的作用。
本研究突出了在利雅得的MNGHA采用PHR的感知挑战和障碍。为了确保高效的PHR并提高采用率，需要采取有效措施，包括提高对PHR的认识以及政策制定者制定明确的指导方针和法规。
