Project Description

Background: Personal health records, where patients (and/or carers) maintain information about the patient’s health and well-being, are increasingly used in the context of care for chronic diseases and are theorised to improve patient outcomes. Patient adoption of personal health records (in this case, a Glaucoma Passport) is complex and poses unique challenges in an ophthalmic setting.

Approach: The team chose to investigate patient adoption of the Glaucoma passport by looking into proportion of adoption and factors influence adoption.

Intended Benefits

Patient outcomes: Further research is needed to determine the impact on patient outcomes.

Environmental, Financial, Social: The assessment identified the cultural and societal barriers to adoption and utilisation of the passport across demographics, specifically with patients of African-Caribbean descent least likely to adopt and utilise the passport. The results of the assessment guides staff to consider the varying needs and characteristics of patient groups when developing and implementing the passport to maximise patient utility. Further investigation is needed on the environmental and financial benefits.

Potential Barriers

Challenges to the project and passport adoption by patient:

• Forgetfulness on part of the patient and/or carer
• Poor visual acuity
• Lack of confidence in its utility in their care from patient/carer perspective
• Disparities in uptake of passport by ethnicity

Key Aspects of the Project

This project focused on the barriers to adoption of personal health records in an ophthalmic setting and the disparities in adoption.