DEPARTMENT:

The Importance of a Personal Health
Record

By Neal Winn

In our senior years we inevitably focus more on preparing for, and enjoying, our retirement. However, it’s as important to think about our health as our wealth. If you haven’t yet done so, I suggest you give some thought to the value of a personal health record (PHR).

In the past few years, we have heard more about the need for electronic health records—i.e., computerized records of your important medical history maintained by your physician or hospital. The federal government has set a goal of our having some sort of record within the next ten years. It would contain the details of all of your encounters with our health-care system, including lab tests, x-rays and other imaging procedures.

I agree with the desirability of that goal, but have some concerns. First, I don’t want to wait for ten years. Secondly, your physician, hospital or insurance plan will control that record, decide what to include and who will have access to your health information.

A PHR is an electronic summary of your critical and relevant medical information, compiled from all of your physicians and hospitalizations, stored on the web with complete security. It is accessible to you and with whomever you choose to share that information. I know some people may keep written records in a file or notebook. That’s better than having no records, but recent natural disasters demonstrate the desirability of electronic storage. During the hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, the paper medical records of thousands of people, their doctors and their hospitals were inaccessible and/or forever destroyed. And in the recent fires that devastated Southern California, thousands of families had to be evacuated from their homes—often with such little notice that they left without any records and even without essential medications. When those people tried to get refills on prescriptions, they found that their pharmacies, their physicians’ offices and even their hospital had also been evacuated. Some went for days without critical medications.

Let’s consider another scenario. You and your significant other, or perhaps your parents, have taken a trip to the mainland. Soon after you arrive, your spouse or father suddenly develops chest pain and collapses. When you arrive at the local Emergency Department, the nurse or physician asks you about your loved-one’s medical history and current medications. Not many of us would know the full answer, and even fewer would know the dosage. And aren’t you tired of filling out the same questionnaires when you see a new physician or get referred to a specialist? Wouldn’t it be nice to simply have that office download a summary of your relevant medical information or for you to print out a copy for that office before leaving home?

What would a good PHR include? There are hundreds of PHRs available to you. Some are free; but whoever provides that free PHR most likely also controls what is in it and who will have access to it. Many are quite limited, asking you to input only a list of current medical conditions and your medications. The PHR should also contain an ongoing list of immunizations and preventive medical tests such as pap smears, mammograms, prostate and colon screening, etc.

In addition to listing all medications with their dose and frequency, the PHR may be able to cross-check your medications for potentially undesirable drug interactions. Important documents such as your living will and durable power of attorney, copies of operative reports, your most recent lab reports or x-rays, consultations and hospital discharge summaries can also be scanned and stored.

Your PHR should also include a Health Risk Assessment (HRA)—a series of simple questions about your health issues and concerns as well as your diet, exercise and lifestyle. Your answers can automatically populate other parts of the PHR and provide you with an assessment of your future risk forheart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. And you may then be provided with tips on what you can do to minimize those risks.

The risk assessment can also be used to determine the medical topics about which you’d like to learn more, through news articles posted regularly to your PHR or through links to other medical sites. A monthly calendar may permit you to record medical appointments, dates when medications need to be reordered or refilled, then remind you Also you may be able to maintain a record of personal information such as daily weight and blood pressure, blood glucose, etc.

But above all, this is your PHR. You decide what goes into it and with whom you wish to share that information. It goes with you if you move or if you change physicians or health insurance plans. If you wish, there are professionals who will help you get a PHR started and update it for you. Its value depends to some extent on how much effort you wish to put into building and maintaining it. Remember, someday your health and even your life may depend upon it.

back to top

© Copyright Generations Hawaii. Designed by Trade Publishing