How to Manage Your Medical Health Records?
Managing your health records can be a tough task, but it’s essential when it comes to managing your health. Your medical records contain valuable information that could help healthcare providers make informed decisions about your health in case of an emergency. But with so many health providers and records to keep track of, it’s usual to feel overwhelmed.
Your medical history should be simpler to keep track of, and thanks to recent developments in healthcare, and health record apps, it is becoming easier.
A survey by Accenture found that 75% of patients feel that having access to their digital health records gives them more control over how they manage their healthcare.
While you can always digitally store all your medical records or upload them to cloud services like Google Drive or Dropbox, it’s much better to have a dedicated medical records app. Here are some instructions on how to gather your files and excellent ways to keep track of them permanently. We’ll also discuss the benefits of using medical history apps to simplify the process and keep your records organized and secured.
This could be tricky, especially if you have been to multiple healthcare providers over the years. However, when it comes to your health, it is worth it. Having a complete medical history is important to ensure that your health provider makes informed decisions about your health.
The basic way to obtain your old medical records is simply by contacting each of your health provider and requesting a copy of your medical records. As it sounds, the process could be time-consuming and frustrating, especially if providers are unwilling to release your records or are unresponsive. If you are lucky, you can get away with sending a few emails and logging into old patient portals. The process majorly depends on the institutes you need to reach out to.
To begin your hunt for your old records, you need to find the website of your healthcare provider or institution. Most healthcare facilities provide instructions for patients to access their medical records. You can also search “get medical records from [name of the institution]” to bring up correct result pages that can guide you through the process.
If you can find “Patient portal”, “personal health record” or “PHR” on the website, you are likely to find your records easily. All you need to do is to enter your username and password to access your records at the portal. Most patient portals include information such as test results, health histories, physical exams, current and past prescriptions and more.
If you cannot find the Patient portal on the website, you should go to the contact us page on the website. You will find a phone number or email address dedicated to the inquiries and questions. If there is no dedicated contact information, contact the main line or front desk of the institution. Once you contact the institution, ask for your complete records from the facility.
For a smoother process, it is best to ask for your complete records before moving states or changing health providers. Keeping your records up-to-date comes can be beneficial in emergency situations.
However, under federal law, there are situations where your health provider or institution can refuse to produce records. A few of them are listed below:
Also, few institutions can have shorter storage limits than others, indicating your records might be gone if you don’t ask for them timely.
But if you feel that the institution or health provider is unfairly holding down your records, you can file complaint against them with the Department of Health and Human Services. However, you need to do so within 180 days of the denial of your request for documents.
Once you collect your Medical Records, you need to store them carefully and securely so you can access them in case of need in the future. Managing records could be done in the following ways:
You can get a membership for new primary care models like Forward Health, Parsley health, Health wealth safe, once medical etc. Once you sign up to start receiving care, the app asks you to submit your medical records. They compile all your past records in your patient file, which accumulates data as you use their service.
Primary care, however, doesn’t usually include services like dental or gynecologic care, so you will probably need to store those records separately.
If you do not want to get a membership plan for the primary healthcare model, you can choose from various medical history apps that let you upload, store and manage your health records.
However, it is highly recommended to read all the terms and conditions thoroughly and make sure that these apps are secure and 100% HIPAA- compliant.
Health Wealth Safe
Health Wealth Safe provides an all-in-one care facility. It enables you to store your records, track your health and activities, get a customized care team, ability to connect your health devices and all this in a 100% HIPAA-compliant interface that ensures all your health information is completely secure and safe.
This is not the easiest way to store your health records, but it can be reliable. You can use soft or hard copies as per your choice. Pick the organizing technique that works for you. You can put the hardcopies in a filing cabinet with a lock, or you can create a password protect folder on your computer.
Managing your medical health records can not only improve the quality of your healthcare, but it can also empower you to take control of your health and make informed decisions about your well-being. So, don’t wait any longer reach out to Health wealth safe or download Health Wealth Safe’s app and start managing your medical health records today to take charge of your healthcare and lead a healthier life.
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