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Keeping track of medical records is key to protecting your health.

Nathan E Botts / Wednesday, February 14, 2018

/ Categories: Personal Health Information

Keeping track of medical records is key to protecting your health.

An article from Consumer Reports as reported by the Washington Post

This article by Consumer Reports, reported on in the Washington Post provides a good summary and use case as to why keeping a personal health record (PHR) can be valuable to your overall health. It discusses how many of us see multiple doctors that use different types of electronic health record systems (EHRs) and that because of this it is likely that are health information is difficult to find in one place. Maintaining your own PHR can help to create a unified place to store your important health information.

An excerpt from the article in the Washington Post:

"Each time he visited Avitzur for neurologic care, she learned that there had been interim tests, consultations and hospitalizations, his recollections of which were vague. He saw multiple providers through different health networks, and while Avitzur worked hard to track down his medical records , she worried that his doctors were privy to only a limited window of his medical history.

Unless you get your medical care through a health-care system that maintains unified electronic health records (EHRs), you may have a similar experience. Scenarios like this play out over and over in doctors’ offices across the United States. And it can be risky because for doctors, seeing patients without complete medical records is like driving a car blindfolded, Avitzur says."

Use the link below to read more of this article on the Washington Post.

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Tags: health information exchange hie PHR personal health records Patient Generated Health Data PGHD Patient Reported Outcomes PRO

How to Protect Your Privacy as More Apps Harvest Your Data

A New York Times Personal Tech series article by Brian X. Chen

Retrieved By Health eConsultation / Wednesday, May 31, 2017 0 15667 Article rating: 5.0

In this article written by Brian X. Chen from the New York Times he discusses some of the potential ways in which mobile apps that you download to your phone may be collecting and using your personal data in ways you did not know.

One of the key takeaways is that there are ways in which to protect yourself and tools that can help you figure out which apps are collecting your data and how to remove their ability to do so.

Stay Private: How to Hide Your Webcam, Mute Your Mic, and Turn Off Notifications

An article from Zapier

Nathan E Botts / Wednesday, August 2, 2017 0 15585 Article rating: 5.0

One consideration as you gather and store more personal health information on your computer and devices is making sure that you are not inadvertently sharing this information (or some other aspect of your personal health) through your webcam or mic.

This article from Zapier outlines several different ways and some handy applications that can help you control this on your PC or MAC.

Determining the Value of Compromising Your Privacy

An article from Engadget

Nathan E Botts / Sunday, August 13, 2017 0 10564 Article rating: No rating

This article from the Engadget web magazine discusses how your online searching behaviors might be monitored by different companies that you are unaware about. This data is likely used to build profiles that may impact the advertisements you see, credit ratings received, and other potential social network aspects as of yet identified.

Sharing Your Electronic Health Record (EHR)

A Video from the NIH All of Us Research Program Channel

Nathan E Botts / Friday, October 27, 2017 0 12305 Article rating: 5.0

From the NIH YouTube Channel: Do you know what information is contained in your electronic health record (EHR)? Eric Dishman, director of the All of Us Research Program, explains what’s in your EHR and why the data is so valuable for researchers.

Sharing Sensitive Health Information: Protect Your Privacy and Improve Your Health

A guide from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology

Nathan E Botts / Saturday, March 31, 2018 0 54151 Article rating: 5.0

This 2-page ONC published graphic novel (aka comic book) is a short guide that helps illustrate why protecting your health privacy is important and issues to consider when sharing sensitive health information.

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Cyber security is impacting our daily lives, and our personal and protected health information is a target for hackers and criminals looking to make money off of our personal data. Your personal health data will always be about your health, demographics, social, lifestyle, financial history, and other related details. Once taken, they cannot be taken back.

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