User-driven prioritization of features for a prospective InterPersonal Health Record: perceptions from the Italian context

In this paper we present two large user studies in which we gather evidence about the adoption and satisfaction level of users in regard to electronic records that manage health related information from two distinct but complementary perspectives: that of General Practitioners (GPs) about their Electronic Medical Records (EMRs); and that of citizens/patients about their Personal Health Records (PHRs). In these user studies we also probe the user attitudes towards innovative functionalities from these two perspectives and, on the basis of the collected perceptions, we apply an original ranking method to infer what features are valued most and hence could inspire design to make PHRs more situated into the users' lives and drive a higher adoption of these tools. On the basis of the perceived shortcomings of current records, we envision an InterPersonal Health Record (IPHR) that is a sort of hybrid electronic record that merges together typical EMR- and PHR-related features and is endowed with specific functionalities aimed at enhancing interpersonal relationships, communication and collaboration between citizens/patients and their GPs through the record and about its contents. This study is then a contribution in understanding the current attitudes and expectations of potential users towards full-fledged prospective PHRs, as well as a first step in identifying those requirements and priority areas on which to focus further for the design and deployment of more community- and communication-oriented tools in the primary health care domain.