A method for understanding some consequences of bringing patient-generated data into health care delivery.

Objective: The consequences of personal health record (PHR) phenomena on the health care system are poorly understood. This research measures one aspect of the phenomena--the time-cost impact of patient-generated data (PGD) using discrete event model (DEM) simulation.

Background/significance: Little has been written about the temporal and cognitive burden associated with new workflows that include PGD.