Living Well in Retirement

Your Medical History at Your Fingertips

Need your history in a hurry? A personal health record can store your data in one place.

By Christopher J. Gearon, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger's Retirement Report

December 6, 2007

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was originally published in the October 2007 issue of Kiplinger's Retirement Report. To subscribe, click here.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a health assistant remind you when it's time to schedule a crucial exam, perhaps a hemoglobin test if you're a diabetic? What if this aide could alert emergency-room personnel about your medical history, even if you're unconscious when you get to the hospital?

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Such help can be right at your fingertips, in the form of a computerized personal health record. This online tool enables consumers to store health-care information all in one place. When you visit a doctor or go to the hospital, you can, with a few keystrokes, electronically send information to the provider or take a copy with you. As for that unplanned emergency-room visit, you can carry a portable device on your keychain that stores important medical data or a wallet card noting your password, for example.

A personal health record, or a PHR, may have saved the life of Pam Hellen's mother. One evening in July, Hellen's mother, who suffers from heart problems, complained of lightheadedness. Before going to the hospital, Hellen, 60, stopped at her computer and printed her mom's medical record, which was located on FollowMe (www.followme.com), sold by Access Strategies, a firm in Sonoma, Cal.

Hellen, who also lives in Sonoma, believes that the computerized record was crucial to her mother's quick recovery. The emergency-room physicians could quickly view the medicines she was taking, as well as details about her recent visit to the cardiologist. "The PHR gives me such peace of mind," says Hellen, who also keeps health records for herself and her husband. "If doctors do not know what medicines a person is on, there's a real danger of drug interactions."

Hellen and her mother are in the vanguard of a revolution in health-care information. While it's easy to gain computer access to your financial data, the medical system has been slow to join the digital age -- possibly placing patients at risk. According to the Institute of Medicine, for instance, 1.5 million patients each year are hurt by taking the wrong medicine or dosage. Experts believe that many errors could be avoided if providers have the proper information.

As it stands now, a patient's medical history is often scattered among many doctors and hospitals. A PHR could include a family medical history, reports on diagnoses and surgeries, lab results, handwritten physician notes and a list of medications.

Besides improving safety, this technology can save you hassles. If you switch doctors or if a hospital closes, you don't have to retrieve your health records. Also, says Tracey Baker, a certified financial planner in Fairfax, Va., "A PHR may actually help you save money by cutting down on duplicate tests and unnecessary treatments."

Personal health records are not to be confused with electronic health records, which are created and controlled by hospitals and doctors for their own use. The federal government is encouraging providers to create a national system of electronic records, which would eventually connect all patients' records to health-care providers, pharmacies and insurers.

Choosing a Computerized Service

About 200 PHR systems are available, reports the Markle Foundation, which conducts research on technology issues. The number is growing, and Google and Microsoft are readying their own initiatives.

Each has its own bells and whistles. Still, when it comes down to it, you have two basic choices. You can enlist with a standalone supplier, such as FollowMe, which requires you to collect the records and then type, download or scan the information. Or you can arrange for a "tethered" PHR, usually through your health insurer, which transforms your medical and pharmacy claims data into a consumer-friendly layout.

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