Why Doctors want you to have a Personal Health Record

In the study “Family Physician Perceptions of Personal Health Records”, published by perspectives.ahima.org  in 2010 which aimed to examine “family practice physician and staff views on the benefits of, barriers to, and use of personal health records (PHRs)” polled physicians are quoted stating:

“I think it’s the patient’s responsibility to keep track of what’s going on. If they don’t want to keep track of what’s going on, it’s really difficult for [the] physician to keep track of everything because they’re the ones that actually go to the visit. You have to rely on the patient to do it, but 70 percent of people won’t.”

Doctors want you to keep a record of your own health, because it makes it easier for them to react and provide a prognosis with higher accuracy in treatment.

“I’ll visit with a patient and their children will hand me a piece of paper that has all the meds, allergies, past medical history, what surgeries they have had before, and that’s awesome. It doesn’t negate me talking to them, but just to have that makes life easier at 2 in the morning when you are trying to find out what’s wrong with a patient.”

Even if they are not using your web-based platform, you can always print your records and show it to them, or access your secure account and show them on a mobile device.

In fact with the new technologies available, it’s not just family physicians who want their patients to be more proactive, as seen in research by Float Mobile Learning:

→   88% of doctors would like their patients to monitor their health at home, particularly their weight, blood sugar and vital signs.

→   40% of doctors believe mobile health technologies can reduce the number of office visits.

→   56% of doctors who use mobile devices, like tablets, say they expedite decision making.

→   40% say that using mobile devices decreases the time spent on administration.

See the full info-graphic: