Descriptive Name: Personal Health Advocacy and Management involves wellness promotion and health management in vulnerable populations including old age, disability and other at risk individuals.

Personal Health Communication

Aging services providers, social services agencies, caregivers associations, caregivers and individuals interested in health monitoring and self-management.

Vulnerable populations look to organizations, agencies and caregivers for support in maintaining optimal quality of life. Functional status assessment monitoring provides useful information for identification of changes in health status and early detection and interventions to prevent disease or decline in the ability to enjoy normal activities of daily living.

An evidence based functional status assessment instrument made available for meaningful information exchange between service providers including day care centers, social services agencies and caregivers provides a metric and communication tool for evaluating health status over time and taking action when warranted to assure best quality of life.

Nora H receives social security disablity benefits due to a long struggle with fibromyalgia. Nora and her family have worked very hard to allow her to live indepently, but a steady decline in her ability to walk, prepare meals, and cope with activities of daily living have made it apparrent to her caregivers that more services are needed. The three physician's that Nora sees regularly (Primary Care, Rheumatologist and Orthopedist) provide the continuity of care data set at each visit for deposit into her personal health record maintained by her care givers. The functional status measures included informed the family when it was time for Nora to move to an assisted living apartment where a full range of health services are available to meet the needs of the elderly or disabled. When Nora was moved to Merry Manor Assisted Living, she shared her PHR with them and provided a sound knowledge base to begin meeting her specific needs, since it included pertinent health facts, including functional status challenges.