Adoption of a Digital Patient Health Passport as Part of a Primary Healthcare Service Delivery: Systematic Review

Abstract

The utilization of digital personal health records is considered to be appropriate for present-time usage; it is expected to further enhance primary care’s quality-of-service delivery. Despite numerous studies conducted on digital personal health records, efforts in a systematic evaluation of the topic have failed to establish the specific benefits gained by patients, health providers, and healthcare systems. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review regarding the impact of digital personal health records in relation to the delivery of primary care. The review methods included five methodological elements that were directed by the review protocol 2020 (PRISMA). Over a time period of 10 years (2011–2021), 2492 articles were retrieved from various established databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, EBSCO—Medline, and Google Scholar, and based on reference mining. The Mixed Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT) was used for quality appraisal. A thematic analysis was performed to develop the themes in this study. The thematic analysis performed on 13 articles resulted in seven main themes, which were empowering the patient, helping with communication, improving relationships, improving the quality of care, maintaining health records, sharing records, and saving time. We concluded the study by expanding the seven themes into 26 sub-themes, of which each served as answers to our main research question that prompted this systematic review.