Benefits of Keeping Digital Health Records, Security & Confidentiality Concerns

Benefits of accessing and maintaining personal health records and using patient portals

Using a personal health record (PHR) is an important way to manage your own health records. The benefits can include managing your appointments, test results, and prescriptions. You may have to scan in or type in most of the information, but then it is at your fingertips for use at a later time. The PHR generally does not connect to your doctor, but you can input and share information from it with your doctor when you are at your appointment.

Security and Confidentiality Concerns

You need to be careful with your confidentiality with a PHR and using patient portals. 

Be sure to create a secure password and not reveal that password to anyone else. 

See if you are able to install and enable encryption on your mobile device. 

Install a firewall on your computer and mobile device to help block out unwanted hackers. 
Keep control of your computer and mobile device at all times to prevent others getting ahold of your medical information.