Describe what a personal health record (PHR) is and three attributes that make them useful for patients.

It is an Internet-based set of tools that allows people to access and coordinate their life-long health information and make appropriate parts of it available to those who need it. The Markle Foundation goes on to describe the following attributes of a PHR:
Each person controls his or her own PHR. Individuals decide which parts of their PHR can be accessed, by whom, and for how long.
PHRs contain information from one's entire lifetime.
PHRs contain information from all health care providers.
PHRs are accessible from any place at any time.
PHRs are private and secure.
PHRs are transparent. Individuals can see who entered each piece of data, where it was transferred from, and who has viewed it.
PHRs permit easy exchange of information with other health information systems and health professionals