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Home > Consumer Focus Archive > Personal Health Records
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Personal Health Records
 Your health information is kept by many different providers and facilities. Keeping your own complete, updated, and easily accessible health record means you can play a more active role in your healthcare.
Posted: June 4, 2008
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Your Personal Health Record
 Your personal health information is a valuable resource to you, your family, and healthcare professionals who provide your treatment and care. What many people don’t realize is that, in most cases, a complete record of all of their personal health information can’t be found in any single location or consistent format. The more complete and accurate your health information, the better tool you have to help you play an active role in the quality of your own healthcare. In a medical emergency, quick access to your health information is vital. A PHR can reduce or eliminate duplicate procedures or processes, and save valuable time and healthcare dollars.
Starting a Personal Health Record
A personal health record (PHR) is a collection of important information about your health or the health of someone you are caring for, such as a parent or a child, which you actively maintain and update. Information to be included in your PHR should include (but is not limited to):
- Personal identification (including name and birth date)
- People to contact in case of emergency
- Names, addresses and phone numbers of your physician, dentist, eye doctor, and any other specialists
- Health insurance information
- Living wills, advance directives, or medical power of attorney
- List and dates of significant illnesses, injuries and surgical procedures
- Current medications and dosages
- Allergies or sensitivities to drugs or materials (such as latex)
- Hereditary conditions in your family history
- Important test results; eye and dental records
- Organ donor authorization
- Other information you may want to include about your health – such as your exercise regimen, dietary habits, or any herbal medications you take.
Storing Information
You are encouraged to begin tracking your health information, if you have not already done so, in whatever format works best for you – even if the choice is paper. However, electronic PHRs may be more efficient than paper, especially once more physicians move to electronic health records. There are a few different ways to maintain your PHR:
- Gather the information in a file folder.
- Transfer the information to a computer disk.
- Store the information on a portable device such as a USB drive.
- Internet-based services offer secure servers that you access from a computer and use to enter your information. Some of these are free while others may charge a subscription fee.
Whatever format you choose, the important thing is to have a single source of your health information, and your personal health record should always be stored in a secure manner just as you would store other confidential personal information.
Note: Maintaining your personal health record also allows you to easily access your information in the event you are displaced, or your physician’s records are damaged or lost.
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 Accessing Your Health Records
There is no nationwide repository of health records. Your records are stored by your doctor’s office or any other facility where you have received treatment – this is why it is a good idea to create your own personal health record, so there is one complete source of information about your health.
- Contact your doctors’ offices or the health information or medical records staff at each facility where you have received treatment.
- Ask if the provider has a plan for helping patients to create personal health records (PHRs)
- As if your records are in an electronic format that you can access yourself, or if you need to request that they make copies for you.
Note: Your healthcare provider is allowed to charge a reasonable fee for copies of your health record. The fee can only include the cost of copying (including supplies and labor), as well as postage if you request the copy be mailed.
- Ask the health information management professional to help you determine which parts of your record you need.
Locating Your Health Records
In the event your physician has moved, retired, or passed away, his/her estate has an obligation to retain your records, including immunization records, for a period defined by federal and state law. This retention period is usually 10 years following your last visit, or until a child/patient is 21 years of age. You may be able to locate your records by contacting:
- Your physician’s partners
- The health information manager at a hospital where the physician practiced
- The local medical society
- The state medical association
- The state department of health
Transferring Your Health Records
If you find yourself moving out-of-state and you know the name of your new healthcare provider, you may ask your current physician to send a copy of your file.
Note: You may be asked to make the request in writing and to specify what information you want to have sent.
If you do not know where you’ll be receiving care, consider the following:
- Once you have selected a new healthcare provider, go to the office and sign an authorization form, which the office staff will send to your previous provider requesting that copies of the information be sent.
- Ask your current provider to make a copy of your records, and carry it with you to give to your new provider.
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 Information for Caregivers
If you are a caregiver for someone else, don’t assume you automatically have rights to that person’s information, even if you are an immediate family member. If you need access to another adult’s information, it is important to obtain permission from the patient to access his/her health records, as well as for the patient to authorize health care personnel to share health information with you. To access another adult’s information:
- Have the person you are caring for submit written authorization to his/her doctors and healthcare facilities.
- The patient should include language that gives permission to release all information regarding treatment to you, and/or anyone else the patient wants to have access to their information, as well as include the names of people the information should NOT be shared with.
- The authorization document should be given to the healthcare facility’s Health Information Management Department.
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 Filing a Complaint
It is important to know your rights regarding protecting your health information. If you believe your rights are being denied or your health information isn’t being protected, you can:
- File a complaint with your healthcare provider or health insurer.
- File a complaint with the U.S. Government.
If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you should contact the privacy officer of the provider where you believe the violation occurred to try to resolve your concern. If you are unable to resolve your concern locally, you can file a formal complaint regarding the organization’s privacy practices directly to the organization, health plan, or to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. OCR is charged with investigating complaints and enforcing the privacy regulation. Complaints to OCR must be filed in writing, either on paper or electronically; name the provider that violated your rights according to the privacy rule and what occurred. Complaints must be filed within 180 days of when you knew the act or omission occurred. Violations must have occurred on or after April 14, 2003, for the OCR to have any authority to investigate.
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Resources
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