From The Editor

 | April 17, 2007

From the Editor

Ensuring affordable and quality care for all generations continues to be one of AARP's most important issues. Improvements in health care during the last century can be credited for substantially improving the quality of life and extending our lives, creating a "longevity bonus". Technological innovations continue to make it possible for further advances in health care. One such recent innovation is the personal health record.

Personal health records, or PHRs, empower consumers to make much more informed decisions about their health. By establishing an electronic link between patient and provider, PHRs can substantially reduce both financial and medical transaction costs. AARP supports the creation of PHRs, recognizing that privacy protections and universal quality control standards should be implemented to safeguard patient security and safety. Additionally, decision-makers from all sectors should engage the public to raise awareness of the benefits and responsibilities of using PHRs. Without educated consumers, the promise of PHRs will not be fully realized.

In this issue of the Global Report on Aging, we focus on the challenges and opportunities surrounding another innovation, Personal Health Records (PHRs). In our keynote article, Gérard Comyn of the European Commission discusses health IT developments in European countries, advocating widespread adoption of electronic personal health records to cut costs, ensure greater quality of care and even increase patient mobility within EU countries. The European Commission has taken a careful approach to delivery of "e-Health," addressing regulatory issues and integration with Member States through a thorough Action Plan.

As policymakers, patient groups and physicians debate how health information technology can be utilized in their respective health care systems, one issue that consistently arises is patient privacy. Our Policy Forum section features articles by authorities who take divergent viewpoints. Dr. Deborah Peel of Patient Privacy Rights in the US explains her concerns with data mining of records, and advocates strong legislation to ensure privacy rights are being protected. Subsequently, Peter Singleton of Cambridge Health Informatics in the UK offers us a policymakers' perspective. He attempts to put the concepts of "privacy" and "confidentiality" in perspective and note that with proper measures, patients' rights will not be compromised as we move into the information age in health care. Finally, we highlight two pieces from authors who provide updates about US efforts to expand the use of PHRs. Dr. Robert Kolodner, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology talks to us about the direction of the US federal government's policy direction. Helen Hopkins of the Consumers' Health Forum of Australia gives us the patient perspective on PHRs. According to Hopkins, Australians are worried that personal contact with physicians may be sacrificed with the advent of electronic records.

AARP's Global Aging Program has been at the leading edge of these debates and ideas, bringing together some of the best thinkers in the field over the past year. In March, we held a meeting on health information technology "Does IT Work? Next Generation Care in the Information Age," in which we discussed best practices and experiences in delivery of new technologies, as well as how to address privacy issues. We also explored these issues on visits by AARP leaders to Canada and Europe last year. We continued our efforts to explore innovation in health care at our Reinventing Retirement conference, held in Tokyo in March 2007, and look forward to our member event in Boston in September.

AARP will continue to share these findings and global best-practices through this publication and online at www.aarp.org/globalaging. We look forward to engaging you in the debate and sharing more of what we learn.