Document Scanning Blog

The modernization of personal health records (PHRs) is helping to take a several scattered pieces of medical information and put it into one web-based record. When you think about all the places where an individual’s medical information is currently stored, you will realize how tedious this process can be. Everything from your physician’s scrawled notes on your chart, to immunizations, hospitalization records, lab results and your prescription drug history will eventually be made into one cohesive PHR. Since the advent of medical records scanning and electronic medical records (EMRs), a number of healthcare providers have taken on the challenge of going fully “online” with their medical practices. While this whole transition has prompted privacy concerns from patients, as well as a whole host of new HIPAA regulations, it will ultimately help patients better manage their own health. While patients wait for their providers to catch up with technology by implementing EMR scanning and electronic document storage, they can take on some of the responsibility themselves by creating their own PHRs using software designed for the personal computer. These programs are just as simple as checking your email and the information doesn’t belong to your doctor — it’s all yours. Using these software programs, you can manage your own family’s health history, which can be easily gathered from healthcare providers. Plus, most of these programs offer some cool tools that will show you how some of your medications may interact, or allow you to track weight loss. Ultimately, all providers will be expected to use electronic document imaging to upload your information to a PHR on your behalf, which is expected to improve the flow and quality of data, reduce costs, and benefit your overall health. But for now, you can get started with your own PHR using software provided by your health insurance company. Some programs offer ways to access records that you can send to a new doctor, order prescriptions, and keep track of any new information about your conditions or prescriptions. In addition to software, some web-based programs make tracking your health records quite simple. One such company is PassportMD. They offer a fee-based subscription that will collect your information for you, including test results and prescription drug records. Applications on GoogleHealth and Microsoft’s HealthVault allow you to upload blood pressure and glucose readings directly from a home device to your online record.