Lymph Journalist

I'll leave a Note Part of Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum by Christine Maynard, Patient Advocate When my mother was in her 80’s, my sister and I decided it was time to have a discussion with her concerning the whereabouts of her medical records. We didn't have any of her medical history, doctors’ contact information or records of drug allergies. Being a proud southern woman, and feeling that walking four miles a day protected her against any negative effects of aging or diseases, she declined to agree with our "need to know." Finally, while packing for elder hosteling abroad she primly replied, "I'll leave a note." My sister and I looked between mattresses, under floorboards and in drawers with secret panels for days for that note at a crucial time. We never found it. There are remedies to potential problems like this. Vital health information can easily be recorded in our secure medical portals. In a medical emergency, details can be...

Patient Portals Provide Ease and Accessibility Posted  by MakeMyHealth   on Wednesday, 02 September 2015  in  EHRs 13 in Share By Christine Maynard, Patient Advocate In 1969, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew vowed publicly that cable television would not fly in America. In his estimation, people would continue to go to the "picture show" to see movies; they would never be broadcast into living rooms across the country. Clearly, technology changed that, giving us the ability to broaden our horizons from the comfort of our own homes. Technology has also changed how we access information, including our health information. The ability to gather health records online opens many new doors for us as patients. Now, through patient portals, we can view our medical information, from test results to doctor's notes, from our homes or offices. We no longer have to wait at a doctor's office for the staff to print our records, which some patients i...