| A personal health record (PHR) is a health record | | | | typing, but if you want to include actual official |
| initiated and maintained by an individual. It can be | | | | reports such as x-rays, laboratory tests, or |
| in the form of a handwritten health diary, but in | | | | electrocardiograms, those documents can be |
| today's information age it is most practical and | | | | scanned, then copied and pasted into your PHR. If |
| efficient if it is based on a local computer with | | | | you are fairly technical and want to have some |
| functionality allowing the exportation of data to a | | | | fun creating your personal health record dictating |
| USB flash drive. Implementing a personal health | | | | the information using one of the speech |
| record (PHR) entails gathering as much information | | | | recognition software programs such as Dragon |
| about your past and current health and organizing | | | | NaturallySpeaking or ViaVoice is an alternative |
| it in such a way that it can be easily retrievable | | | | which is also more efficient than typing. If you do |
| and reproducible for circumstances that might | | | | not want to buy a speech- recognition software |
| require its use. | | | | program and you have one that came with your |
| The starting point is to choose a personal health | | | | computer this would be a good time to learn to |
| record which will allow you to enter typed | | | | use it. If you are even more technical and want |
| information as well as information and official | | | | to be even more efficient in implementing your |
| documents such as x-ray reports, laboratory | | | | personal health record you can dictate your health |
| reports and electrocardiograms. Ideally, the | | | | information into a digital recorder, transcribe it |
| program should have a resource to allow you to | | | | through the voice editor software program that |
| learn more about your medical condition(s) and | | | | comes with the digital recorder into a word |
| should be secure and encrypted with password | | | | processor program such as Microsoft Word or |
| protection of your personal data. Other desirable | | | | one that comes with the speech recognition |
| features include the ability to store health | | | | program, then copy and paste it into your PHR. |
| information about your family members as well as | | | | The latter method allows you to document |
| yourself, technical support in using the program, | | | | information for entry into your health record in |
| ease of transferring information into it and from it | | | | real time, such as when you come across stored |
| to your health care provider(s) and flexibility in the | | | | records in your home or if you dictate notes |
| reproduction of the data. All these factors | | | | during doctor visits. |
| considered, a local computer-based personal | | | | After you have entered as much health-related |
| medical records software application is probably | | | | information about yourself as you have available, |
| the most logical choice. | | | | then fully explore the personal health record |
| After choosing a personal medical records | | | | program, going through all the tabs and sub tabs |
| software program and installing it on your | | | | to see if there is any other information you can |
| computer the next step involves locating and | | | | retrieve and enter at a later date. You might need |
| gathering all the paper documents you may have | | | | to obtain some of this information from your |
| in your home or elsewhere containing information | | | | health care provider(s), but since it is not yet |
| about your health. These documents can include | | | | commonplace for patients to share the |
| immunization records, prescription drug labels, | | | | responsibility of maintaining a health record it |
| prescription receipts, written instructions from | | | | might be necessary for you to explain to your |
| your doctor(s), notes taken by you during doctor | | | | doctor(s) the benefits of having a personal health |
| visits, office records you may have from your | | | | record, so as to ease any possible concerns of |
| current or previous physician(s), hospital bills, | | | | you being litigious. Also, begin making journal |
| prescription receipts, and copies of superbills from | | | | entries regarding new symptoms or |
| your doctor(s). | | | | developments that need to be discussed during |
| Once you have gathered as much information as | | | | impending doctor encounters. |
| possible pertaining to your health it should then be | | | | Once implemented, the maintenance and updating |
| entered into the appropriate sections and | | | | of your personal health record should motivate |
| subsections of the personal health record. The | | | | you to be more involved in your health care and |
| basic informational entry process will require | | | | hopefully improve your health. |