Health Level Seven (HL7), based in Ann Arbor, Mich., has approved the Personal Health Record System Functional Model (PHR-S FM) as a Draft Standard for Trial Use.
The PHR-S FM defines the set of functions that may be present in PHR systems, and offers guidelines that facilitate information exchange among different PHR systems and between PHR and EHR systems, according to HL7. The PHR-S FM can be applied to specific PHR models (stand-alone, Web-based, provider-based, payer-based, or employer-based models).
While the PHR-S FM is not yet a fully ANSI-accredited standard, a DSTU version allows the industry to work with a stable standard for up to two years while it is being refined into an ANSI-accredited version, the organization stated.
HL7 anticipates that, by February, the model will be finalized for use by the healthcare industry and general public.
