Effectiveness of health maintenance reminders provided directly to patients

Provider-centric Electronic Health Records (EHRs) with clinical decision support have had a modest impact on improving quality care. However, they do not directly engage patients in promoting guideline adherence. Tethered Personal Health Records (PHRs) in contrast, can deliver decision support to both patients and providers. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of providing seven screening reminders directly to patients via a PHR. Patients receiving the intervention were significantly more likely to receive Pap smears. No difference was seen for the other reminders.