Columbia University will use information technology and the National Information Infrastructure (NII to provide information to patients that will improve disease prevention activities and effective!y manage chronic illnesses in the home setting. Patients will receive alerts and reminders when standards of care (immunization, diabetes management, asthma control, etc.) are not being achieved. Patients will enter data (blood pressures, glucose levels, pulmonary function test results, etc.) into an electronic medical record using applications which run on home-based personal computers connected to the NII. These patients will also be able to communicate with health care providers, review applicable parts of their medical record, and receive desired information which will address their specific health care concerns. The project will demonstrate techniques to safeguard the confidentiality of personal health care records which are stored and transmitted electronically, and will evaluate the impact of patient utilization of information resources which can be delivered via the NII.
