by Leonard Achan RN, MA, ANP

Many people are skeptical about the new push for electronic medical records (EMRs). While many companies like Google are making it easy and appealing for patients to transfer all of their documents onto their secure sites, it seems almost impossible to fully trust them with your most valuable medical information.

The majority of the population still seem to feel that there is something unsafe about having all of their medical information zipping across cyberspace. We will leave it to our readers to decide what the safest and best options are for storing their valuable information online. I will highlight the pros and cons of the top five services in a future article. For now, the focus of this article will be to tell you about an alternative which, in my experience, has helped save critical time and countless lives over the years. The big secret here is how you can gather your own medical records and safely secure them on your own computer, thumb drive or even your paper file draw. In situations where you may not be able to advocate for yourself and family is stressed and worried, you should afford yourself and your loved ones the ability to have all your records ready and available for the health care providers so that they can have all the necessary information to start treating you quickly and effectively.

We can begin by asking a simple question. When you or your loved ones have exams, tests or imaging such as X rays, ultrasounds  MRI’s, etc. do you ever ask for copies?

Did you know that when going to a physician’s office, lab or radiological center you could call ahead or even ask at the front desk (on arrival) that your images be copied onto a CD after the test?  Tell them you can wait after the test in case it only takes 10-15 minutes and that it is important that you leave with them on a CD.

When you’re admitted to the hospital or even visit an emergency room, do you ever request your medical records, your X-rays/imaging or notes from exams? Did you know that you can do that before being discharged by filling out and signing a medical information release form? They can then mail your file to you at home or you can pick it up another day. Most medical centers now have the ability to even copy those files to electronic PDF files. They charge minimal fees for this but it is priceless info to have since you may need it during your most vulnerable times.

Files copied to CD’s give you the ability to easily transfer them onto your computer. You can then organize them into a desktop file for easy management or save them onto your own thumb drive where you can keep all your records and medical images ‘portable’. If that is too technical for you, then simply keeping these CD’s and records at home in a file draw can be a lifesaver.  This makes the file ready and available at all times. Either of these options would be the best way to keep a medical record of your own. Calling your physicians office today and getting printouts of your labs or tests as well as written reports of your exams is an ideal way to start building your own medical record at home. It’s never too late as long as you know where to get your information. So make some calls today and start building your file. If you have any questions or need guidance, just ask in the comments section below.