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| Your Medical Records:
Why and How |
Health-Care Savvy: How to maintain your own medical records
From Consumer Reports on Health,
3/96
Did you ever
suspect that you once had an allergic reaction to a drug, but couldn't remember which
drug? Or that you already had a lab test your doctor wants to order, but couldn't recall
when? Do you forget the names of medications you've taken before or are taking now, or
when you had vaccines for a particular disease?
Your doctor may know -- or maybe
not. And those missing pieces of information can come back to haunt you -- with needless
repeat testing, medication mishaps, even avoidable illness. When it comes to health
matters, those who cannot remember the past may indeed be condemned to repeat it. It's
essential to have ready access to your own medical history.
Tracking down lost medical
information can be a pain. It may require numerous telephone calls and some time-consuming
paperwork. But that's time well spent. Don't wait until an urgent problem arises. And
don't rely on your ability to wade through piles of old bills and receipts to fill in the
details. Plan ahead. …
 | If you have been hospitalized, ask
a copy of the summary report, any surgical and pathology reports when you are discharged. |
| Ask for copies of EKGs, results of
any CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, exercise stress tests. |
| Keep a list of drug allergies,
immunizations, names and dosages of your medications. Note the drugs that did NOT help,
and any adverse reactions to medications you've taken. |
| Construct a detailed family tree
showing key medical facts about your relatives: siblings, parents, aunts, uncles,
grandparents. Include date of birth, age at death, major diseases, cause of death. |
| Keep your records all in one
place, accessible in emergency. |
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AMA Recommends Family Health History
From The Wall Street Journal,
8/15/96
The American Medical Association
recommends that every family maintain some kind of health history. "Every time we
investigate an illness or see a patient for the first time, the family history will guide
us as to what direction to take," says Regina M. Benjamin, a member of AMA's board of
trustees. As doctors search for hereditary links for a growing number of diseases,
genealogy is playing an ever larger medical role. Information about the deaths and
diseases in past generations can be extremely valuable in that research -- and in
evaluating your own health risks. |
The Medical History as Information Source
From Take Care of Yourself, by Donald M. Vickery and
James F. Fries
Addison-Wesley, 1990. (p94)
The doctor has three major
sources of information: the medical history, the physical examination, and laboratory
tests. Depending on the illness, any one of the three may be the most important. The
medical history is the only source of information that is directly controlled by the
patient. It is frequently termed "subjective" by doctors because the information
cannot be directly verified. To the extent that you provide your doctor with clear,
accurate data, you increase the probability of an accurate diagnosis and successful
treatment of your problem.
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Compiling
your family medical history: How important is it?
From Mayo Health O@sis on the Internet
Major illnesses like heart disease, cancer, or diabetes may not always be preventable. But
there are important things you can do to reduce your risk and minimize their impact.
Mapping your family's medical history can provide a good place to start as you look at the
risks you may face in the years ahead. This can give you the time to develop habits that
lead to a healthier life.
(Read the full text at
the Mayo Clinic site.) |
| Getting Access to Your Medical Records may
be Limited, Costly, or Impossible
From The Wall Street Journal,
7/31/96
In nearly half of the
states, people have no legal right to review or copy their own medical records. But laws
vary widely, with some broad loopholes for health providers to deny requests for records.
… [T]here are good reasons for people to get a copy of their medical records. They
might be moving to another city and want copies to take while they shop for a new doctor.
They might want to learn more about a health condition and the treatments they have
gotten, or any errors in their records. Doctors or hospitals have policies which determine
how easy or difficult it is to get copies of records, and what fees will be levied for
research and photocopying. These fees aren't covered by insurance. |
Patient
Empowerment
from Cybermedicine, How Computing Empowers Doctors
and Patients for Better Health Care
by Warner V. Slack, M.D.,
Jossey-Bass, 1997
My argument in this book is that
computer programs that help patients and doctors with medical matters can both improve the
quality and reduce the cost of medical care... Good clinical computing can improve the
relationship between the patient and the doctor. (pp xv)
If the computer is to become more ...useful as a patient's assistant -- helping patients
and their families maintain better health, manage medical problems when they occur, seek
and use health care facilities in an enlightened manner, and participate as partners with
clinicians in medical decisions -- good material must be written and tested. They
must then be made available for use both on stand-alone personal computers and on networks
such as the Internet. (pp
147)
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