Patient Information
Between Worlds - A Story of Hope. A film by Southern Tier HealthLink
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Between Worlds COMPLETE
Involves
Christina Galanis. |
Why should I consent to participate?
Participating in a health information exchange (HIE) - that is, consenting to
have your records accessible to health care providers in the region and across
the country - offers major benefits to you and to your family.
Review Consent
Form
Benefits of Participating
IMPROVED TREATMENT: When you visit your
doctor, change doctors or are referred to a specialist, all
of those providers would have access to the same medical
information about you, including your previous treatments,
illnesses, lab work, allergies, procedures, and so on.
If you are travelling and need health care anywhere in the
STHL region (Southern Tier and Central NY), those doctors
can also access your medical history. In time, even
doctors across the country will be able to access your
records, which will alleviate some of the delays,
complications, and uncertainty of getting sick or being in
an accident when
you're away from home.
PEACE OF MIND: You may remember the
stacks of
manila folders in a
(sometimes remote) Records Room at the hospital or your
doctor's office - one of those folders held your medical
history, and hopefully it was complete, filed correctly, and
protected from flood, fire and inaccuracies. These days, your
record may be electronic -
stored in a computerized data base at your hospital or
doctor's office - but not necessarily in a format that can
be shared with another provider. With the HIE, your
medical information will be stored in one central, secure,
location (backed up regularly) so your doctors and hospitals
will have access to the same information. And you, the
patient, won't have to rely on your memory to provide the
details of your medical history.
ACCESSING YOUR OWN RECORDS:
Being able to review and print your healthcare records is more
than just a convenience. With escalating medical
costs, our busier lifestyles, and the importance of
assembling all pertinent information in one place
(especially in case of an emergency), the personal
healthcare record (PHR) is a critical tool for people who
want to manage health-related information for themselves and
their family.
Click here to find out more about privacy, consent, sharing information, and more...
Review sign and take Consent Form to your participating provider. You can also set consent via the internet using the STHL Patient Portal.
STHL Patient Portal: Your Personal Healthcare Record
A Personal Healthcare Record (PHR) is an electronic file
of your medical and general healthcare history - information
that might have been scattered across the record systems of
the many doctor's offices and hospitals you visit.
Your PHR may include details about allergies, adverse drug
reactions, medications you're taking, illnesses and
hospitalizations, surgeries and other medical procedures,
vaccinations, laboratory test results, family history, and
so on.
In June 2011, STHL launched its
Patient Portal, making your Personal Healthcare Record
available at your fingertips via the internet. The
STHL Patient Portal allows
you to:
- Manage Your Consent & Share Data with your Doctors
- Access Your Providers & Your Health Information
- Monitor Who is Accessing Your Information
The STHL Patient Portal
is easy, it’s secure, and it’s free.
Click here for more information
on the STHL Patient Portal.
“...(T)he Surgeon General encourages Americans to
talk about and to write down the health problems that seem to
run in their family. Learning about their family's health history
may help ensure a longer, healthier future together,”
advises the US Department of Health and Human Services.
We echo this suggestion. Families that discuss their medical
history provide the key to helping current and future generations
manage their own health. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Office offers
a free web tool (https://familyhistory.hhs.gov
) to help you build a family tree that tracks relationships
and medical information. Create your family history file
and download it to a personal computer to update the tree as
your relatives share more information over time.
