This article by Consumer Reports, reported on in the Washington Post provides a good summary and use case as to why keeping a personal health record (PHR) can be valuable to your overall health. It discusses how many of us see multiple doctors that use different types of electronic health record systems (EHRs) and that because of this it is likely that are health information is difficult to find in one place. Maintaining your own PHR can help to create a unified place to store your important health information.
An excerpt from the article in the Washington Post:
"Each time he visited Avitzur for neurologic care, she learned that there had been interim tests, consultations and hospitalizations, his recollections of which were vague. He saw multiple providers through different health networks, and while Avitzur worked hard to track down his medical records , she worried that his doctors were privy to only a limited window of his medical history.
Unless you get your medical care through a health-care system that maintains unified electronic health records (EHRs), you may have a similar experience. Scenarios like this play out over and over in doctors’ offices across the United States. And it can be risky because for doctors, seeing patients without complete medical records is like driving a car blindfolded, Avitzur says."
Use the link below to read more of this article on the Washington Post.