What is in your Health Record?

13 May 2016

With the growing number of physician adopting electronic health record systems each year it has become even more critical for all patients to log in at least twice a month and review their health records to ensure accuracy. It is estimated that 60-70% of physicians in the United States have adopted some type of electronic health record. Each time you visit your physician your clinical record is updated with your most recent health history including new medical diagnosis, lab results and an updated medication history.

Electronic health record systems automate the collection of data. Unfortunately this technology also opens up the opportunity for mistake to be made in a patient’s health record. Ultimately it is the patients responsibility to login and access their health record each month to ensure all data is up to date and accurate. Most physicians see and average of 35-40 patients per day in clinic. During each patient visit, both the doctor and the staff are busy recording data in the electronic health record. It is very easy for a doctor or a staff member to click the wrong data accidently while thinking they have chosen the correct diagnosis. While documenting patient care and health data it comes down to hand-eye coordination and making sure the doctor or staff member selects the correct data listed on the screen. Both physicians and staff are simply selecting data by scrolling up and down a list. For this reason alone, mistakes are made each day with electronic health records. It is up to the patient to review their health data on file and ensure that the data is correct. If you have questions about the data in your health record then you should contact your physician immediately.

Online access to health records provides the first step in getting patients involved with managing their health in the electronic world. In order to help control the rising costs of healthcare, the government is encouraging patients to get involved with managing their health records to ensure that the clinical data recorded in their health record accurate. Patients need to remember that the data being entered into the health record is shared with their insurance carrier. In addition, having an incorrect medical diagnosis on file could result in an increase in your annual insurance premiums.

ViewMyHealthRecords.com provides the technology patients need to securely access their health records. Thousands of patients successfully access their health records each day using ViewMyHealthRecords.com All data is encrypted until it is displayed for the patient online. If you currently do not have access to your health records then have your doctor contact ViewMyHealthRecords.com today.