Patient-centred care:: using online personal medical records in IVF practice

BACKGROUND: Generic patient-accessible medical records have shown promise in enhancing patient-centred care for patients with chronic diseases. We sought to design, implement and evaluate a patient-accessible medical record specifically for patients undergoing a course of assisted reproduction (IVF or ICSI). METHODS: The personal medical record (PMR) database was developed using three formative evaluation steps, and its user-experience was evaluated through a cross-sectional study. Fifty-four patient-couples receiving an IVF or ICSI treatment in our hospital were granted access to the PMR. Main outcomes concern the usage of the PMR, the perceived usefulness of its functions and user attitudes towards privacy and financial issues. RESULTS: The PMR consists of 15 major functions that can be classified into personal information, general information and communication functions. Fifty-three patient-couples accessed the website and 51 couples filled out the evaluation questionnaire. They rated most functions as useful and preferred personalized to general functions. The results also show that some functions require further development. Patients using the PMR have little concerns regarding privacy, and 76% are willing to pay for such a service in the future. CONCLUSIONS: The patients in this study frequently and intensively used the Internet-accessible PMR. This suggests that the PMR offers very useful functions from an IVF/ICSI patient's perspective.