We believe that all individuals should be able to readily access, understand, and use their personal health information. A PHR allows individuals to be more active partners in their healthcare, and gives them up-to-date information when and where they need it. A PHR provides a single, detailed profile of a person’s health status and healthcare activity. It facilitates informed decisions about the care of the individual. It may also reduce duplicate procedures or processes – such as repeated lab tests and x-rays – saving time and money. A PHR helps people prepare for appointments, facilitates care in emergency situations, and helps track health changes.
The PHR should contain any information relevant to an individual’s health. In addition to medical information such as test results and treatments, a PHR may include diet and exercise logs or a list of over-the counter medications. It can be more comprehensive than a medical record. A PHR should contain the following information:
- Personal identification, including name and birth date
- People to contact in case of emergency
- Names, addresses and phone numbers of your physicians, dentists and specialists
- Health insurance information
- Living wills, advance directives, or medical power of attorney
- Organ donor authorization
- A list of dates of significant illness and surgical procedures
- Current medications and dosages
- Immunizations and dates
- Allergies or sensitivities to drugs or materials such as latex
- Important events, dates and hereditary conditions in your family
- Results from a recent physical examination
- Opinions of specialists if applicable
- Important test results and dates of tests, eye and dental records
- Any correspondence between an individual and their provider
- Current educational materials (or appropriate web links) relating to one’s health that could be used for discussion at the time of a provider visit
Howard County General Hospital does not currently participate with any PHR websites. If you would like to create your own PHR, a good place to begin is to go to the website http://www.myphr.com/. This site is provided as a free public service by the American Health Information Management Association. We also suggest that people find out if their providers, employers, insurers, etc provide access to a PHR. Each person can create a PHR at their own pace, perhaps starting at their next medical visit. The important thing is to get started.