Latest Technology Empowers Patients to Take Active Role in Their Care

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When Hurricane Katrina hit the Southeast coast of the United States, residents were forced to evacuate—some with just moments to spare—before the worst storm in decades devastated their homes and communities. Many fled with only the bare essentials.

In the aftermath, thousands of people, without their health records, were treated by medical personnel for various problems or emergencies. Most could rely only on their memory to tell the professionals about their personal health histories and daily medications.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital of Philadelphia is offering a new tool to enable patients to track personal and family health records on their personal computer and download that information to a USB device or print it for portability.

Free for the asking, Jefferson University Hospital’s customized Personal Health Manager Software (PHM) is available on CD-rom. It allows individuals to have their health records centrally located and ready to print, in the event of natural disasters and medical emergencies, or routine physician visits. In addition, using the PHM, patients with chronic medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure can record, track and monitor important information such as daily blood pressure and glucose levels.

“Jefferson’s Personal Health Manager is a very useful tool that we are making available to the community,” said Thomas J. Lewis, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital president and CEO. “Easy to use, it is designed to allow each of us to maintain an up to date record of information about our health that will be quickly accessible in routine situations as well as in an emergency.”

In addition to the software, the free CD from Jefferson University Hospital includes built-in links to the hospital’s online resources to access information on a variety of health topics and medical specialists, and to set up appointments with Jefferson physicians.

Once the PHM has been installed on a personal computer, patients can fill out their personal profile and health history forms, list medications and dosages, conditions and allergies, as well as the names and telephone numbers of their physicians. There is also an area for emergency contact information. The PHM is a user-friendly tool that will enable patients to take an active role in their personal and family care.

Consumers can use the tool to manage and organize their personal and family health information, similarly to the way they use products like Quicken to organize their finances. Doctor visits, immunizations and treatments for each individual can be recorded. Changes in blood pressure, daily glucose levels and lab results can easily be tracked and graphed. Reminders may be set to schedule recommended annual physicals and tests. A wallet emergency card can be produced and printed. Additionally, before a patient goes to Jefferson University Hospital for a test or procedure, they can fill out and print the Hospital’s registration and health history form to use as a reference at their appointment.

Patients who take several medications will find the PHM tool especially useful for keeping track of their prescriptions, including daily dosages. After entering the information, the patients can simply print a list of their conditions, medications, dosages, treatments and emergency information, and carry it with them wherever they go.

Families with young children will find it helpful to keep track of immunizations and screenings for childhood illnesses. Those who take care of aging parents can use it to keep track of doctor’s appointments, treatments, tests and prescription records. The program is easy to follow, with a step-by-step tutorial that provides directions and instructs users how to customize the tool to use it as much or as little as they like.

“We want our patients to be empowered,” says Thomas J. Lewis. “When it comes to patient care, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is not only dedicated to providing excellence, but to engaging people in the process.”

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s customized Personal Health Manager CDs are available to members of the community throughout the Delaware Valley who request them in response to advertisements in local newspapers and through the hospital’s website, www.JeffersonhHospital.org.

U.S.News and World Report has consistently ranked many of Jefferson University Hospital’s services among the best in the nation. These include rehabilitation, cardiology/cardiac surgery, orthopedics, digestive disorders (gastroenterology), geriatrics, gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery, which are both based at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience, otolaryngology--head and neck surgery, and urology. The hospital is also one of only a few in the United States that is both a Level I Trauma Center and a federally designated regional spinal cord injury center. The Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson is designated as a cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.

In addition, Jefferson physicians have been named among the best doctors by Philadelphia Magazine and by Best Doctors in America, and the hospital has been ranked among “The Top Hospitals In America” by Modern Maturity, AARP’s magazine for people over 50.

Jefferson University Hospital PHM Features

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Personal Health Manager (PHM) software provides patients and their loved ones with easy, secure access to their health information, any time, right at their fingertips.

Installing the technology to a personal computer enables users to:

• Record personal and family health history
• Track medications and dosages
• Document and graph lab values and glucose levels for easy analysis
• Communicate health information through personal reports
• Set and receive automatic reminders to schedule annual physicals or other exams
• Create an emergency wallet card
• Store medical images or physician reports
• Track fitness goals
• Record and follow insurance and co-pay information
• Note any advance directives

Users can also have easy access to a variety of menu options that link them to the Hospital’s online resources at www.JeffersonHospital.org. These include the following:

• Find a doctor
• Health topics A to Z
• Set up an appointment

Whether there is an emergency or a regularly scheduled appointment, transporting personal and family health information is important. The PHM allows users to carry their records by printing hard copies or saving to a USB device:

• Transport specific health reports, medication lists or the entire medical record

The PHM CD is compatible with Windows 2000/XP and can be password protected for optimum security. Technical support is available by phone and online.