Did you know that you own your medical records? In this video, I explain what information you can get from your doctor and how to obtain access to your private medical chart.
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Trying to figure out health insurance? Get my book Choose Your Best Health Insurance for detailed assistance on how to decide which insurance plan is right for you and your family.
When you are under the pressure of having a medical ailment and talking to your doctor about your past, it can be hard to remember important details about your medical history. You may leave the appointment only to later think of something you should have mentioned. To avoid a situation like this, it helps to keep your own medical records.
The key is to put your documents together before you need them. When you or a loved one needs medical attention, you may not have the time or the resources to gather health information. So, it’s important that, before an emergency, you have a Medical Life List on hand for you and for each of your loved ones. In a nutshell, your Medical Life List is your own personal medical record created by you and updated by you. In this video, I help you get started.
After you watch the video, you can download your own Medical Life List template in my free toolkit.
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Confused about health insurance? Get my new book Choose Your Best Health Insurance for detailed assistance on how to decide which insurance plan is right for you and your family.
Your aging parent is having some medical concerns. As their son or daughter, you think it will be a breeze to help them through doctor and hospital visits, paperwork, insurance, and so on. But do you have the right to your senior’s medical records? Or your spouse’s medical records?
Not automatically. It’s a matter of privacy. Their records are private, just as yours are, accessible only by them and anyone else they happened to designate. If you’re jumping in to help, it could cause the process to slowdown if you aren’t specifically chosen by them.
This affects not only spouses or grown children trying to help their aging parents, but also patients who may want their primary caregiver (family or otherwise) to have access to their medical records.
Often paperwork is given at the doctor’s office or the hospital that has the patient provide a name and contact information for anyone additional who is allowed to receive information about the patient’s medical. If this paperwork isn’t given automatically, the patient can and should request an authorization form designating permission.
Incidentally, a doctor is allowed to give information to a spouse or family member if he or she is present during a doctor’s visit or a hospital stay. If the patient has a family member come with them to the doctor, the doctor can assume that the patient wants the family member to have access to the medical information being given unless the patient states otherwise.
While being at the doctor with the patient may allow you to hear current diagnoses or recommendations, it does not guarantee full medical record access. If the patient wants you to be able to access more than the current conversation, have them authorize you in writing.