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4 Ways Electronic Health Records Are Improving Your Healthcare

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In the past, and not all that long ago, after waiting in your doctor’s office, your provider would walk into the room with a folder containing a portion of your medical history recorded at that specific location. What about your history from other locations? What about your hospital and emergency department visits? What about things that happened to you when you were a child? Could that folder really be considered your comprehensive record?

There have been many medical advances and innovations over time leading to better healthcare. Electronic medical records, now generally referred to as the electronic health record, contains not just a digital version of that folder, but increasingly more of what happened elsewhere. This comprehensive medical record helps your provider better diagnose and treat you. It also comes with many benefits. 

Electronic health records allow you to:

  1. Track your health history and data over time. You can easily scan your health history as you might an electronic book. You receive better care because your provider can similarly access more of your health history.
  2. Play a more active role in your healthcare, automatically receiving notices when you are due for preventive screenings and visits.
  3. Communicate with your provider. If you visit multiple doctors within one network or visit a doctor outside your usual network who has the same electronic health record system, they all may have access to your electronic health record. If so, they can more easily coordinate your care and find the best options for you.
  4. Send health data such as blood pressure, glucose, and exercise history directly to your medical record from wearable devices.

Benefits of electronic health record do not only favor providers. Your MyOchsner electronic health record patient portal allows you and your family become more meaningfully involved in your healthcare process. Your patient portal allows you to review medical history and results for you and your family. You can also easily communicate with your provider, giving you more timely information and reducing the need for follow-up visits.

Your MyOchsner portal makes it easy and convenient for you to make appointments with members of your Ochsner care team, for preventive care and immunizations, and even for virtual telehealth visits using your smartphone.

You can even access, view, download and print most of your medical record from your MyOchsner account. In some cases, you may need records sent to other providers or request records not accessible online. If you would like to request a copy of your medical records, please send us a medical records request.

To request your medical records or create a MyOchsner account, please visit: https://my.ochsner.org/.

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