A lot of physicians I interact with tell me that their patients often have copies of their medical records and related documents organized neatly or maybe not so neatly somewhere in their home – like tucked away in a closet or drawer perhaps. And too often some document from that patient’s medical paper trail gets misplaced or accidentally tossed out; the patient only realizes that when he/she starts frantically searching for the missing information. Then the physician often gets called for a backup copy.
It can be challenging, and sometimes annoying for patients to maintain paper copies of their own medical records let alone keep track of appointments and medications, especially if they have more than one physician. Consider how a patient’s and a physician’s life can be simplified by being able to access those records in one place, electronically with a smart phone, tablet or laptop; as long as an Internet connection is available. An electronic personal health record (PHR) like myOSCAR makes this possible and is a beneficial alternative for both patients and physicians.
A PHR is an electronic health information storage tool that gives the user complete control over their medical information, pretty much anytime and anywhere. A patient can send to and receive all kinds of timely information from their physician and/or medical office including lab and x-ray results, any side effects from a medication, use of supplements, or test diagnostics. A patient can also set up their own network filter so that only those people who the user grants access to can see the information that the user wants and needs them to see.
Since myOSCAR was launched several years ago, it has been the mission of my company, Cloud Practice, Inc. to introduce this tool to medical practices and their patients because it makes the benefits of electronic medical records so easily accessible. Installation of myOSCAR-which integrates with a medical practice’s existing OSCAR electronic medical record (EMR) system- is a service that our team at Oscarhost.ca recently launched and the response so far has been extremely positive from physicians and their patients. The time to incorporate it into your professional and personal health plan record-keeping is now. It’s definitely where personal medical information storage is headed as more patients and healthcare professionals try it out and realize how liberating – and efficient- it can be compared to all that paper!