April 29, 2019
Samuel Zeller/Unsplash
Some tips for being your own medical advocate.
Did you know that there’s actually a way to keep track of your medical history — on your own? As in, it can be done without spending any time on hold with your doctor’s office while they try to piece together your medical history that’s speckled with years of doctor hopping.
Some people may want to achieve this just because they’re curious about keeping track of their past, while others may need this information because they’re dealing with a new medical issue or are trying to find a new doctor.
Either way, seeking out your medical history can feel like a daunting task that most people, it seems, have no clue how to tackle.
With news emerging that some people — like some millennials born before 1989 — may not have received the proper or most effective MMR vaccine, knowing your health history, which generally involves things like vaccines, tests and diagnoses, is more important than ever. Especially amid the nationwide measles and mumps outbreaks.
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Fortunately, Huffington Post published a very useful story Monday pertaining to this very subject that outlines a few ways in which Americans can access and keep track of their personal medical histories. There are surprisingly quite a few options, and the Post offers up some tips for each one.
First things first, there are some apps and online services that help people nail down their medical history. The Post outlines a few *secure* apps and websites including Picnic Health, LabFinder, the iPhone Health app, and Hixny. They also note that individuals can contact their local health department for their vaccination records.
Another option, HuffPo explains, is to contact your old doctors for past records or see if your current doctor offers an online portal where things like test results can be stored and accessed by patients at any time.
Check out the Huffington Post’s know-it-all guide to obtaining and tracking your medical history here.
