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Outside of basic health info, there are no hard-and-fast rules about what information is relevant. \u201cFor every disease, there are specific key data,\u201d\u00a0Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM<\/a>, a cardiologist and Yale School of Medicine professor who studies how patient data control and usage can improve care, tells SELF. Pay attention to what providers tend to ask you about and track in connection with a given condition you\u2019re dealing with\u2014whether that\u2019s specific lab test results or information about your lifestyle\u2014for clues about what to include in your file.<\/p>\n \u201cOver time, an individual with a chronic condition will learn the difference between two sets of information,\u201d says Olenik: the relevant and the irrelevant. But Clagett, of Duke HomeCare & Hospice, points out that many people\u00a0understandably\u00a0might not have total fluency in medicine and health care\u00a0jargon and systems, or\u00a0much\u00a0experience with whatever\u2019s going on in their own bodies specifically\u00a0at a given moment, to feel comfortable making a firm call on what\u2019s right to put in or leave out of a file. When in doubt: Ask your doctor.<\/p>\n While it may be useful to keep recent lab results like imaging studies, urine tests, and blood work handy, experts tell SELF that it\u2019s not helpful to keep every test result you\u2019ve ever received in a health file. Ditto for doctor\u2019s visit notes, discharge documents, old prescription information, personal health journals, and insurance statements. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what happened when you were 6 if you\u2019re now 66, in most cases,\u201d\u00a0Cooper Linton, MSHA, the associate vice president of Duke HomeCare & Hospice, tells SELF. \u201cKnowing what your pulse rate was after a jog five years ago probably doesn\u2019t matter either.\u201d You can put any additional or outdated information into deep storage somewhere safe just in case\u2014but you\u2019re probably not going to need it.<\/p>\n Compiling health records may seem daunting, but Linton points out that many of us already have a lot of the necessary info in our wallets, phones, and computers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many providers also have patient portals where you can access your visit history and notes, test results, prescribed medications, and more. You can call their offices for help accessing their portals if you\u2019re not sure how to do so.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Until recently, getting your hands on\u00a0additional health records was\u00a0often easier said than done. Tracking down and requesting\u00a0information often involved tons of confusion, red tape, and fees. But, as of last fall,\u00a0new federal regulations<\/a> state that you can now call any health care provider in the US and ask for your full medical record, and they have to make it available to you promptly and accessibly. Some care providers may still be hammering out the details of complying with this new regulatory framework, but if you do hit a speed bump, keep asking and you should get the info eventually.\u00a0<\/p>\n Every expert SELF spoke to stressed that gaps in your health file aren\u2019t necessarily a problem. Maybe at certain points in your life, you didn\u2019t have access to medical care. Maybe you got care in another country, or in an informal context that didn\u2019t involve record keeping. Maybe your records got lost. Maybe you\u2019re an adoptee who doesn\u2019t know your biological family\u2019s history. Whatever the case, just assemble as much information as you can, and medical experts can help you work out the rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s no one tried-and-true way to organize your info into a file. Physical binders, digital folders on a thumb drive, data uploaded to cloud storage\u2014each method has pros and cons. Work with the format that seems like it\u2019ll be easiest for both you and the folks involved in your care to access, navigate, and understand. Just make sure you make at least one backup in case something happens to the original.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\nBusiness How to find your health information<\/h2>\n
Business How to organize a 30-minute health file\u00a0<\/h2>\n