The future of medicine is to have empowered patients who participate in their healthcare. There is a rising movement in the US and internationally that seeks to make easier the process of obtaining medical records. A recent article on CNN emphasizes the passion and need for patient access to enhance patient satisfaction, reduce risk and injury, and improve higher quality care (http://tiny.cc/tV7y9). It is archaic to continue the concept that hospitals own the medical records. A more modern concept is that hospital and doctors own their copy of records, but the content of the information held within the records belongs to the patient.
However, it is a small victory to merely access medical records. One has to bring life to the information by actually using the data to impact daily living. Wellness ToolBox (http://tinyurl.com/yfnn7p8 ) is a powerful and sophisticated way to utilize medical information to promote wellness and manage illness. MyHealthArchive Ultimate (http://tiny.cc/OsktM) is a highly sophisticated personal health information management system that includes both Wellness ToolBox and personal healthcare information archiving systems.
The time has come to move into the 21st century in attitudes about how we access out medical information as well as how we take an empowered, active role in sustaining our wellness.
I agree!! Access to health information can make a critical difference in manging illness, but can also make a huge difference in helping people to attain greater ability to manage health issues and better control their health outcomes. In speaking with many people about the subject of access to health records, those who are most sensitive to this concern have generally been affected in some way by their own illness or illness of a friend or loved one. What is important to realize is that health is a continuum and we make choices which impact our health and wellness every single day. Just like saving for a rainy day, MyHealthArchive’s personal health information management system, MyHealthArchive Ultimate, can keep people up to date, help make communication with health care providers more effective, and improve safety. The Wellness ToolBox can help keep people on track so that they can either stay well by better managing their nutrition or exercise, or improve the results of their treatment if they have an illness such as high blood pressure or diabetes. The features in the Wellness ToolBox are dynamic, user-friendly and practical. There are a variety of well-researched educational topics and action plans which can help improve health and wellness. As a nurse, many people I have talked to who have visited MyHealthArchive are very impressed with all of the features they receive in their subscription, including high level encryption security and ability of the subscriber to authorize different levels of access to health information as they feel appropriate. So their physicians may be given a higher level of access than family or friends members who may need limited access to information to support treatment decisions. I’m very excited to be a part of this cutting edge technology I would encourage everyone to visit http://www.MyHealthArchive.com. You’ll be glad you did! Posted by Valerie Purcell, RN, MBA, CPHQ, CSSBB
Comment by Valerie Purcell — January 21, 2010 @ 12:59 pm