Say you're out of town and you become ill. You go to the local hospital emergency room where you are quizzed about your medications and allergies. Unfortunately - in the confusion and stress of the moment - you forget to mention that you're allergic to penicillin until it's too late.

Good health care depends on good and thorough information. Your health information - the medicines you're taking, your allergies, your family history, what illnesses or surgeries you have had - is what makes you medically unique, and can affect your treatment.

We receive care from providers in many places. We are a mobile society; we change towns, we change doctors, we change jobs and we change health insurers. But your doctor's medical charts and other health information don't automatically appear at different doctors' offices or hospitals. Don't assume your doctor has all the relevant information at his or her fingertips. Usually, in fact, the doctor does not.
Because of this, it's up to you to keep track of your own health information.

Personal health record

Some people do so by creating and maintaining a personal health record (PHR). PHRs typically are health records that can be offered by your doctor or insurer but are maintained by you, the individual. Usually, you control who can see or use the information in a PHR.

An ideal PHR provides a complete summary of your health history. In some cases it makes information available via the Internet to anyone you allow to see it. Other types of PHRs can be saved on your computer.

If you're comfortable storing and updating your information in this way, a PHR may be for you. If not, you should keep track of your paper records by storing them all in one place. You should organize these records in a way that you find useful, and make sure that a friend or family member knows where to find them. Keep in mind that Federal privacy rules give you rights over your health information, but allow this information to be passed along at certain times.

Some Medicare and prescription drug plans offer PHRs. If you belong to one of these plans, check your plan's website or contact the member service department to see if one is available.

Keeping the right info

What kind of information should you keep track of? Anything that may affect how a doctor might treat you. At a bare minimum, you should list, in detail, information on the following:

• Any illnesses or conditions in your own history, such as whether you have heart disease
• Any potentially relevant family history of illness (such as diabetes, cancer, or high blood pressure)
• Prescription medicines you’re currently taking, including dosage information
• Known reactions to medications or allergies
• Test results and immunization records
• Over-the-counter medicines and vitamins you regularly take
• Preferences such as a living will on your record
• Names and phone numbers of your healthcare provider(s) and insurance company

You can add more information to your record as you see fit. Your PHR doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should be organized. What’s important is that the information you put in your record be as complete, accurate, and accessible as possible.