How do you organize your medical records?

[meerkatmillie]

I'm staring at a mountain of infertility and general healthcare paperwork that I've stored over the years. I'd like to convert it from paper to digital form, but it just seems overwhelming because I don't know where to start. So I thought I'd check in to see what others do.

How do you keep track of your medical records? Do you organize your data by date, by type of doctor, by something else? Do you use a digital Personal Health Record (PHR) system like "My Medical," Microsofts "Healthvault," "Neat" scanner, etc? If so, what do you like or not like about it? 

[mustloveerica]

Um I have a folder with my name and a folder with my husbands name. They really only contain childhood stuff.

But mostly our local health system uses an online portal so all of our records are there. We don't really need physical copies of anything.

[joy]

I only have a few pieces of medical paperwork. They are test results concerning my kidney and pertain to a still undiagnosed condition. Otherwise, I toss/shred everything.

[thechickencoop]

^ what they said. All of our actual insurance paperwork and EOBs are all electronic. The only thing I keep are the actual register receipts from any payments because we have an HSA and sometimes they request them.

Any diagnostic results are electronic too...there's really not much I need to keep. We each have a file folder too and they just have like our birth certificates and Hs has some of his Marine Corps paperwork in it...::shrug::

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2015 15:24:28 GMT -5 ugaqueencity said:

It's these types of threads that make me realize how bad I am at adulting. I know my parents still have my records from a couple surgeries I had as a teenager, but I don't really have anything from my adult years. I should probably check with my husband what he does with bills and such after they are paid, but I just kind of assumed he shredded them. Other than bills, I haven't received any paperwork as far as lab work or anything like that goes

This does not make you bad at adulting. Not everyone has a long medical history or a large number of medical expenses in a short period. Some people only visit the doctor when absolutely necessary.

FTR, I only have all of my medical stuff because I never throw anything out. It's not really organized. Just sits in a box somewhere in storage.

[madamewaffles]

Most of my records are available on my clinic's portal, but I do have a few records from going to other providers.

I organize first in department folders (ie neurology, endocrinology, etc), then doctor name. Digitally save files first by date of visit, and then doctor name for if I am searching for a specific visit.

I give lab tests their own folder and save first by date and then test type for easy searchability.

[Deleted]

Dec 5, 2015 16:19:35 GMT -5 madamewaffles said:

Most of my records are available on my clinic's portal, but I do have a few records from going to other providers.

I organize first in department folders (ie neurology, endocrinology, etc), then doctor name. Digitally save files first by date of visit, and then doctor name for if I am searching for a specific visit.

I give lab tests their own folder and save first by date and then test type for easy searchability.

That's impressive.

[cheshie6]

I am also on with a digital portal through our physician. BUT being a sailor and having gone to a doctor in foreign countries, I do keep a folder of my most recent tests results, vaccines, etc in a hard copy. (I like being prepared in case of emergencies) I do this for my dogs as well because you never know. Last christmas, I was visiting my sister and her house was too stressful for girl dog. I had her history in the car so I walked her into the closest doggy day care, gave them her history and she stayed the weekend.

[emilie]

Anything medical I get on paper I just file in a folder chronologically by date and then go through it at the end of the year and shred what I don't need. My insurance has a great online site for claims, etc., so I use that to track insurance coverage and expenses. If you're deducting medical expenses on your taxes I would keep a dedicated folder for all receipts with a spreadsheet detailing each expense.