Industry news

Gartner: PHRs enable better control of records

The government's IT chiefs should investigate the impact of personal health records and health information exchange programmes, one market analyst has said.

Gartner claims the use of web-based personal health records (PHRs) is a key step towards enabling individuals to maintain a better control of their own details, but only if the government can ensure public policy goals are not lost.

The organisation says PHRs, which are free of charge, could achieve a high degree of interoperability with clinical systems operated by healthcare providers and other third parties.

Wes Richel, vice president and distinguished analyst at the firm, said: "PHRs can impact government IT organisations and executives by creating the need for informed participation in policy initiatives and by impacting beliefs about whether some initiatives should be governmentally operated."

Meanwhile, yesterday (July 22nd) the analyst claimed the global semiconductor outsourcing services market is set to boom.

It forecasts the sector is on pace to enjoy growth of some 10.8 per cent this year compared to 2007.