Mobile access to health records

NEED immunisation records, medication refills or results from your latest blood test? Just check your smart phone. Dubbed the online banking of healthcare, the new system is expected to dramatically enhance communication between patients and providers. "Allowing secure, online access to health information is really just a reflection of everything else happening in society, as consumers come to expect convenient access to most services. We know that patients want accurate and timely information," says Margaret Punch, M.D., associate medical director, Faculty Group Practice Ambulatory Care Services and associate professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, University of Michigan (U-M) Medical School.

A long list of patients will especially benefit from the new selfservice records system, MyUofMHealth.org, along with its corresponding MyChart app for iPhones and Androids. People with asthma and other conditions requiring frequent prescription renewals can fill out online requests instantly. Parents may print out their child’s vaccination records the night before the first day of school. Patients who are anxiously awaiting results of regular tests – such as those undergoing chemotherapy or fertility treatment – also don’t have to wait for office hours.