As patients, caretakers, healthcare professionals, and information design geeks, no one on our team is a stranger to the challenge in front of us.

We came at the problem from all angles – as a graphic designer, software engineer, and two nurses with years of Electronic Health Record and health technology deployments – to fuse our talents and experiences into a future-forward Personal Health Record (PHR) that will work for a wide audience.

Our design combines a carefully considered typographic hierarchy with original icons, an accessible color palette, and user-friendly graphs to highlight important information for every user – from power-user providers to patients with low health literacy. We've built in multiple ways of understanding the information so patients can derive immediate action from complex sets of data.

Applying usability data from existing patient portals and our diverse experiences, we've re-organized the PHR to be intuitive to both patient and provider, taking advantage of the web format to enhance educational opportunities through links to reputable sources, calls to action, and interactive elements. We've incorporated tooltips into our submission that demonstrate our focus on patient engagement and education, as well as strengthening the core objectives of Meaningful Use of electronic health technology.

As healthcare shifts toward care being delivered outside traditional facilities, we've envisioned a mobile-friendly PHR that encourages personal touches such as avatars and comments. We meticulously considered the use cases provided, designing key features that cater to their specific personas, while generating high value for all stakeholders. A few examples:

• For the underserved, inner-city parent with low health literacy, we've integrated links to more information on medical terms that might not be immediately obvious.
• For the senior citizen with failing eyesight, large type and simple print settings will make it easy to read. On the opposite end of the spectrum, our fully responsive framework makes it convenient for young adults to view their PHR on any device.
• For the busy mom acting as a caretaker for her family, we've linked directly to the PHRs she has access to, acting as a one-stop shop for her family's healthcare.
• For the patient with breast cancer who juggles multiple providers and prescriptions, we've included images of your providers (or their specialty, if no image is available), which organize and humanize them, as well as lay terms that are easier to remember. Medication is clearly marked as active or inactive, and those in need of refills are starkly differentiated. Additionally, the latest lab results and upcoming appointments are readily available, while your full medical history is only a few clicks away.

By considering these personas and many others, we've come to the conclusion you see here – a usable and interactive experience that simplifies the Personal Health Record for all involved.

We're enthusiastic about rethinking the way we approach our health in the information age, and creating a design that makes taking an active role in our individual health more commonplace. Without further ado, thanks for considering our submission.

Sincerely,

Sharon Silverberg Mark Silverberg Brian Norris, MBA, RN-BC Charles Boicey, MS, RN-BC, CPHIMSS