The Indiana University Health Center has launched an online personal health record for students at its Bloomington campus. The intent is to make it easy for students and their families to share medical information with the health center.

The university deployed an online PHR from Fort Wayne, Ind.-based NoMoreClipboard.com.

"Our student population is extremely Web-savvy, and filling out patient registration forms in a clinic waiting room might strike them as antiquated and inefficient," said Pete Grogg, associate director at the health center. "With NoMoreClipboard, students can create a secure, password-protected personal health record that includes their medications, allergies, current and past conditions and other important medical information."

Students will also be able to import medical information from the health center's electronic health record system into their PHR after a visit, Grogg added.

Before visiting the university health center, students provide information and answers to specific questions  through the PHR. Those answers will populate Indiana University registration forms, which are integrated into the health center's electronic health record system.

Students can also send information from their PHR to their hometown physicians and other medical professionals throughout the country. When they graduate, they will be able to continue using their PHR accounts to manage their health information.

"The timing for this program is ideal," said NoMoreClipboard.com Vice President Jeff Donnell. "The new administration is firmly behind initiatives that foster healthcare IT adoption, and funding for these kinds of efforts is included in the stimulus package. Offering personal health records to its students reaffirms Indiana University's commitment to innovation and the Health Center's focus on improving care and reducing cost.