My Own Health Report project

A nationwide preventive health effort 

Unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, excessive drinking or poor diet, play an important causal role in illness.  But few medical providers have the ability to ask in-depth questions about such behaviors during the brief time allotted an average office visit with a patient. As a result, an important opportunity for prevention may be lost.

The My Own Health Report (MOHR) project aims to give doctors and other providers the information they need.  MOHR helps primary care providers to effectively collect data and monitor health behaviors and risk factors during their patient’s health care visit. 

Currently piloted by 18 medical clinic sites nationwide under the supervision of six leading universities, including UCLA, MOHR project participants use both paper and electronic tablet survey forms to ask their patients about health behaviors such as how many fruits and vegetables they consume or whether they smoke or drink soda. The information collected (typically before seeing their provider) can become part of the patient’s electronic health record, and allows doctors to pinpoint high-risk behaviors, helps prioritize health care needs, discuss preventative care, and monitor progress toward specific health goals.

Such patient-centered projects are a key part of health care reform because they take into account the impact of biological, environmental, behavioral and cultural factors on a person’s health.  They also encourage prevention efforts that could stop a negative health behavior before it becomes dangerous – and costly. The project’s results will be evaluated after a year and could lead to wider implementation. 

MOHR is funded by the National Cancer Institute, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). It is coordinated by the Virginia Commonwealth University.