Personal Health Records are starting to take off, most will find excuses not to use one, but after you get over entering your information you will be surprised that you ever got along without one. A PHR is place online that you can store all types of health related information. Now some PHR will be offered by your provider which means if you work changes their health insurance copy you loose all your records (Does anyone see a business here). PHR are the thing of 2007 and will, in my opinion be one of the most dominating sector moving forward. A PHR that is not tied to your Health Insurance is the way to go, early adaptors will have no problem signing up and entering all there health related information, other it will take time. Once done you will have it all in one place, prescriptions, health trackers, drug information, etc..
There are a couple of different ways to go. The one that I feel has some great weight behind it and was started by Steve Case (AOL Steve Case) is Revolution Health, the design is well thought out, it is visually appealing and has a ton of money invested. Read Steve's thoughts.
Then you have companies like MediVault which will let you store the information on a Pen Drive, Disk, or something like that, leaving you with your PHR in the palm of your hand, able to bring it with you where ever your travels may take you. The online PHR let you print out sections, history, questions that you might find useful for your doctor to know about. Here is a little excerpt from Revolution Health:
RevolutionHealth.com: your health home page.
We’re creating a resource you can rely on. A place you can go to learn about all of the aspects of your health, from sources you can trust. Of course, we want to be the place you turn to when you have a symptom you are concerned about. But RevolutionHealth.com shouldn’t just be a place you visit when you’re sick – we want it to be a place you visit regularly to stay healthy. Indeed, we think there has been too much focus on treating ailments, and not enough focus on prevention and wellness. So you’ll find more than 100 fun, easy to use tools to help you and your family get and stay healthy. (Yes, I said fun – why does health care always have to be so boring?)
But perhaps more than anything else, RevolutionHealth.com is a community, where you’ll find support and insight from people who have been where you are. For example, if you or someone in your family is battling cancer, you can connect with others who are living through that experience. You’ll learn what worked—or didn’t work—for them. Or, you can set personal healthy living goals, and we’ll connect you with people like you, who have set similar goals. It’s a unique, dynamic community we’ll all build together.
And From MediVault:
MediVault is preloaded with software which allows for the owner to accurately describe the conditions and symptoms they are feeling. Then they can either print out the file to hand to the doctor or simply hand them MediVault. After the visit the doctor may provide you (the owner) with scans, a report, tests, or prescriptions. Those files are then emailed or faxed, by you or the doctor, to the MediVault facility where they are uploaded to your secure digital patient folder.
Next time you connect your MediVault to a PC or Kiosk location it will automatically connect to your care file and load the latest documents to the portable MediVault drive. When you attend the next doctor’s visit, MediVault will be able to provide all the latest information about your updated plan of care in full or summary format. Taking an active role in your healthcare ensures the best care! MediVault can help make that possible. Doctors agree!
The only thing that I can say is go with it!
