As a guest user you are not logged in or recognized by your IP address. You have
access to the Front Matter, Abstracts, Author Index, Subject Index and the full
text of Open Access publications.
The purpose of this paper is to present a future scenario projecting a fully developed, i.e., mature, personal health record (MPHR) that is instrumental in linking health care services delivery with preventive and wellness activities to provide informed and responsive consumer-driven health care. The legal-regulatory, institutional management, socio-cultural and technological challenges to implementation are discussed to guide future policy development in this area. We conclude that the potential pay-offs for enhancing the individual's health and well-being and protecting and sustaining the public's health overall is worth a considerable investment in policy analysis, technological R&D, partnership building and the expenditure of political capital by influential advocates and decision makers.