Barriers and facilitators for the usage of a personal health record for medication reconciliation: a qualitative study among patients

AIM: Personal health records (PHRs) are more often used for medication reconciliation (MR). However, patients' adoption rate is low. We aimed to provide insight into patients' barriers and facilitators for the usage of a PHR for MR prior to an in- or outpatient visit.

METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted among PHR users and non-users who had a planned visit at the outpatient rheumatology department or the inpatient cardiology or neurology department. About one week after the hospital visit, patients were interviewed about barriers and facilitators for the usage of a PHR for MR using a semi-structured interview guide based on the theoretical domains framework. Afterwards, data were analysed following thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Ten PHR users and non-users were interviewed. Barriers and facilitators were classified in four domains: patient, application, process and context. We identified fourteen barriers like limited (health) literacy and/or computer skills, practical and technical issues, ambiguity about who is responsible (the patient or the healthcare provider) and lack of data exchange and connectivity between applications. Besides that, ten facilitators were identified like place and time independent, improve usability, target patients who benefit most and/or have sufficient skills and integration of different applications.

CONCLUSION: Barriers and facilitators identified at the patient, application, process and context level, need to be addressed to effectively develop and implement PHRs for MR.