Creating a Personal Health Record

Taking Proactive Steps Toward Preventing Medical Mistakes

For most of us, these questions require time and effort to answer. But what if you're in a hospital emergency room and you need the answers fast? More importantly, what if you're unconscious and can't provide the answers at all?

The Era of Medical Errors

Medical errors include such occurrences as a healthcare provider choosing an inappropriate method of care based on the patient's medical history or giving a patient a medication to which he or she is allergic. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported in 1999 that nearly 100,000 people die each year due to medical errors, which suggested that medical errors were the 8th leading cause of death at the time. Unfortunately, in the heat of emergency care or even in the rush of a specialist’s office, it may be difficult for many people to remember every relevant fact healthcare providers need to make a sound decision regarding their medical care.

This was the case of 67-year-old Terry L. of Los Angeles, who went into the hospital for back issues that resulted when he lifted a heavy box. He told the hospital staff he was allergic to Demerol; unfortunately, he was given a Demerolrelated pain killer. Terry spent five additional days in the hospital battling a severe allergic reaction to the drug.

In Terry's court case, hospital staff claimed he neglected to tell them of his allergy. As a football coach for many years, Terry was aware that Demerol would be the most likely drug they would prescribe so he made sure they knew about his allergy. The hospital prevailed, and Terry was not reimbursed for his time away from work, and the hefty medical bills that were not completely covered by his medical plan. Perhaps if Terry had had his medical records available at the time, the error described above might have been avoided.

Personal Health Records: A Pound of Cure

The federal government and physician and senior organizations (most notably AARP) have begun encouraging people to take control of their Personal Health Records (PHR). A PHR is defined as a health record that is "initiated and maintained by an individual" and provides a complete and accurate summary of the health and medical history of that individual gathered from many sources.

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) has devoted an entire website to this concept (www.myphr.com). According to myphr.com, "Keeping your own personal health record (PHR) allows you to provide doctors with valuable information that can help improve the quality of care you receive. A PHR can help reduce or eliminate duplicate tests, and allow you to receive faster, safer treatment and care in an emergency. In short, a PHR helps you play a more active role in yours and your loved ones' healthcare."

Creating a PHR: A Daunting Task

Many people are aware that under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), you can view, request changes to, and obtain copies of health information documents collected and kept about you. In other words, you are entitled to copies of every medical record pertaining to you—from your doctors' offices to labs, dentists, pharmacies and any facility you have ever been in. Nonetheless, collecting all this information and creating your own personal health record requires a great deal of time and effort. The process may require many visits and phone calls to get the often overburdened office staff to provide you with the documents you need. You may also need to fill out an "Authorization to Use or Disclose Healthcare Information" form for each office.

According to a report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine, over 1.5 million medical mistakes occur in hospitals and medical centers across the country each year, resulting in over 100,000 deaths. Keeping a copy of your medical records with you wherever you go can help prevent your becoming a statistic.

The myphr.com web site provides guidelines for collecting copies of all your medical records and organizing it, but then portability becomes an issue. After all, do you really want to lug around a large stack of paper-based records when you visit your kids on the other end of the country? How do you carry them around with you? After all, what good are these records if they sit at home in a box? The greatest hurdle is that the box of records will probably never even be reviewed simply because it is so cumbersome.

Going Digital

Rather than a paper-based PHR, one of the newest options for keeping all your medical information together in one convenient location is using a "flash drive." Also known as a "thumb drive," the device allows thousands of pieces of information and documents to be stored on something small enough to fit on your keychain. A flash drive has the added advantage of being compatible with nearly any computer with a USB port, which makes gathering—and viewing—records easier.

According to Dennis Mario, president of MediRecs Alert System, Inc., one of the newest players in the digital PHR space, “Most ambulance drivers carry laptop computers, which can read the device, and it can save quite a bit of time in an emergency room situation, where fast access to important information is crucial."

MediRecs has developed the My Personal Guardian system, which is perhaps the most flexible digital solution available. Not only does it allow those individuals who are more tech savvy to complete all the information-gathering documents online, they also provide a service in which MediRecs staff does the collecting for you by contacting your physicians and hospitals directly to obtain the documents.

Either way the information is gathered, MediRecs takes it one step further by sorting through the information, preparing a summary version for easy access and readability, and copying the summary and all digital documents onto a secure flash drive. Because MediRecs keeps all your original documents on its secure data server, replacing or updating your information is achieved in no time. In fact, update reminders are sent to you automatically, depending on the plan you choose. My Personal Guardian is not only good for day-to-day living, it is also perfect for travelling since most computers worldwide can read the data on the device. Geri Giorno, a client of MediRecs, explained it this way: "After my heart transplant, I was afraid to go very far away from my doctors, but My Personal Guardian on my key chain changed everything. I am free to go wherever I want, knowing I have all my records with me. My new heart gave me a new life; My Personal Guardian gives me the freedom to enjoy it."

For more information about My Personal Guardian, contact MediRecs Alert System at 1-888-696-7441.

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