In order to provide the best possible patient care, it is important that different medical professionals be able to exchange medical records for a patient, once the patient has given his permission for them to do so.
HIPAA, the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, has made major changes in the world of medical records. These changes are designed to give patients better access to their own medical records, and more control over how these records are distributed.
You may have noticed over the past several years an increase in the number of forms that you have to sign when visiting the physician's office, the prescription counter, or the hospital. You've probably already encountered several forms designed to protect your private information and give you more control over how it is shared.
With the rise in electronic medical records, "interoperability" is the next big challenge in the world of medical records. The National Alliance for Health Information Technology defines interoperability in the following way: "in healthcare, interoperability is the ability of different information technology systems and software applications to communicate, to exchange data accurately, effectively, and consistently, and to use the information that has been exchanged."
Many professional organizations, as well as healthcare providers and the federal government are working together to make medical records more easily transferable and shareable, among a patient's various providers of care.
Several major healthcare professional organizations have also pressed the recommendation that individuals maintain personal medical records. This personal medical record will contain all pertinent information about your health history -- and is bound to be very useful, in spite of advances in the way that healthcare providers maintain patients' medical records.
Many people keep medical records for their children, but not for themselves. Keeping a personal medical record for yourself can help you to answer questions from "do I need another tetanus shot yet?" to "what was the name of that medication that gave me an allergic reaction last time I was in the hospital?"