A Personal Health Record (PHR), also known as a medical record, is a compilation or collection of a person's health record every time the person visits his/her doctor, hospital, or another healthcare provider. This is used by doctors, nurses, and other medical staff to keep track of your health and ensure that you receive quality healthcare.
Why need a PHR?
It serves as a:
- Basis for planning your care and treatment with your provider
- Means by which doctors, nurses, and others caring for you can communicate to one another about your needs
- Legal document describing the care you received
- Means by which you or your insurance company can verify that services billed were actually provided
- Tag in tracking your health-related information - which you think affects your health, including information that your doctor may not have, such as your exercise routines, dietary habits, or glucose levels if you are diabetic
- Accurate health history to all health care providers who are treating you
What a PHR Contains?
A personal health record (PHR) is a collection of important information that you and your physician have exclusive access. The record will belong to your healthcare provider, but the information in it belongs to you. A PHR will contain the following information:
- Personal identification, including name, birth date, and social security number
- People to contact in case of emergency
- Names, addresses, and phone numbers of your doctor
- Health insurance information
- Living wills and advance directives
- Organ donor authorization
- Dates of significant illnesses and surgeries
- Current examinations, medications, and dosages
- Important events, dates, and hereditary conditions in your family history
- Comments of your doctor
- Important tests results
- Correspondence between you and your provider(s)
- Permission forms for release of information, operations, and other medical procedures
Getting Started
Here are some steps for maintaining a PHR after getting it created; but you can feel free to create your PHR at your own preference:
- Request a copy of your health records from all your healthcare providers; ask if you records are in an electronic format that you can access yourself, or if you need to request paper copies.
- You can also gather your information in a file folder if all information is not available to you in an electronic format; an old-fashioned file folder will be the easiest and most inclusive format.
- You can transfer electronic information to a computer disk, and carry that with you; update the details of your PHR after every session with your doctor.
Important
- Remember, your PHR is your private information; protect it and maintain confidentiality. Only let trusted family members know that you are compiling it, and where you keep it
- You have the right to access your health records
- You also have the right to request that changes be made to your health record if you believe that information in your record is incomplete or incorrect
- Make sure the details in your PHR is correct and complete
- Know what is being released when you authorize disclosure of information to others
