Record Keeping: Personal Health Records
The health care services that your child needs today may seem more fragmented than ever. Perhaps there are recent visits to a primary care health care provider or specialist, new prescriptions, or maybe test results. But what about your child's visit to that other health care provider two years ago when you had a different health plan or lived in another part of the country?
Question?
Why do you need your child's personal health records? While living with asthma means looking ahead and setting goals, it also means looking at past medical history — maybe to detect patterns, to review medicines that did or did not work, to note when emergency department visits were necessary, or to examine when quick-relief medications were being refilled.
You might have a stack of records that you keep in a drawer or carry around with you. For instance, you may have a notebook with dividers that helps keep all your records in one spot and easy to grab as you go out the door for a health care provider visit.
But when a real asthma emergency occurs, will you have the records you need with the important information? To help, new personal health records — both online and offline — are becoming available for free or low-cost that you can have when you most need them.
Rights to Your Records
When your child has a chronic condition such as asthma, it becomes very important to create her personal health record (PHR) that shows all her health-related information including her health care provider visits, medications, emergency visits, and other pertinent medical information. (You might find this information helpful for you and other family members as well.)
Alert!
If an emergency should arise, you'll know that you can have fast access to your child's health information so that he can receive appropriate care. While many think that an emergency room can obtain their medical information quickly, this is not currently the case with the current state of health information technology.
Under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, patients are allowed to view and obtain copies of their health information documents. You'll need to request and sign an “authorization for the release of information” form from the medical provider to receive the data.
You can view or receive entire copies of your records, or you can request a shorter summary of the information. Most providers will charge for copies — so a summary may be less expensive. However, the fee charged by a medical provider can only include the cost of copying (with supplies and labor included in the cost), plus postage if you ask for the copies to be mailed.
Keeping a PHR
You have a choice in how you can maintain your PHRs. The simplest is keeping a file folder or binder with paper copies. But other options include compiling electronic files on your computer. This information can be transferred to computer disks or to a portable USB drive key that you can carry with you.
Internet-based services also are available that you may access from your computer and where you can store and retrieve your PHR information. Some of these services can assist you with collecting the information you need from health care providers.
Also, some insurers, employers, and various health care providers now are offering PHRs as a part of their health care services.
Some online PHR tools are available for free and others may require purchase or a subscription fee. To learn what options are available, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), an industry group, has created a Web site (
AHIMA notes on its Web site that each supplier has various policies and practices on how they may use data they are storing. If you use electronic PHRs, you are urged to study the policies and procedures to make sure you understand how your personal health information will be used and protected. These policies include privacy and security, the ability of users to access their information, and control over accessibility by others.
One free service is iHealthRecord, a secure and confidential PHR that includes interactive programs to explain medical conditions and medications. With this PHR, you can decide which of your health care providers will have access to your record, and for what period of time. The PHR also can be accessed by hospitals and emergency departments — with your permission — in case of a medical emergency. See
