Choose Health
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Remember going to your new doctor and receiving a barrage of intake questions? “Have you had any surgeries … in what year … when was your last physical?” It’s not always easy to remember the specifics. In our tech savvy world, there are easy ways to keep track of this important information.
Apple has come out with an app called My Medical that allows you to track your:
- blood pressure,
- diagnostic test results, including total cholesterol,
- weight changes and BMI,
- past surgeries,
- allergies,
- prescriptions,
- upcoming appointments,
- and much more!
You can keep track of it all on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch for a small fee. You can even track your family members’ information with it, too! Imagine how meaningful your blood pressure reading can be when you can compare it to previous readings one sweep of your touchpad!
My primary care doctor is in the Harvard Vanguard system here in Massachusetts. Whenever I need to know my numbers or remember when I had my wisdom teeth out (December 26, 2002), I can log into their record keeping system for patients, My Health Online .
Having a simple online tool like this allows me to keep track without having a shoebox overflowing with bills, homemade spreadsheets or prescription receipts stuffed under my bed.
Do you have a system like this with your doctor, a nifty online program, or another handy way to keep your numbers … handy?
Great tip about My Medical. I’ll download it and check it out. I’ve been using an app called Heartwise to track my blood pressure. It includes tracking for weight as well; has a number of good options to display your data; export options and it aggregates the latest in BP related news. And if your really geeky about this stuff you might try DailyBurn to track everything that you eat, your weight, your body fat, your levels of different vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Nothing beats solid tracking if you really want to face up to what you are doing to yourself. Thanks Liz!
You mentioned the My Health online tool for viewing your medical records. Do all Health Insurance Plans offer this now?
My Health Online is through my primary care doctor’s office, not through my health insurance plan. I am aware that Highmark (the insurance carrier for the UUA Health Plan) does have at least prescription tracking when you have an online account!