Self-Managed Access to Personalized Healthcare through Automated Generation of Tailored Health Educational Materials from Electronic Health Records

The evolution in health care to greater support for self-managed care is escalating the demand for e-health systems in which patients can access their personal health information in order to ultimately partner with providers in the management of their health and wellness care. At present, unfortunately, patients are seldom able to easily access their own health information so, as a result, it is often difficult for patients to enter into a dialogue with their healthcare providers about treatment and other options. One truism seems to be constantly ignored: it is not possible for patients to actively manage their health without the requisite information. Health information should be made available through "any time, anywhere" delivery: outside the physician's office or hospital, in the home or other personal setting, on a variety of multimedia information devices. We believe that personalization of health information will be a key element in effective self-managed healthcare.