FAQs

Who are the people of MyHealthArchive?

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, MyHealthArchive is a product of PatientCentral Technologies, L.L.C. PatientCentral Technologies is a privately held company lead by highly skilled professionals in medicine, nursing, information technology and law. MyHealthArchive offers a variety of technological products and services that are designed to improve access to information, communications between patients and health care providers, coordination of patient care, and improve patient safety. All of PatientCentral's technologies are patient-centric and adaptable to a variety of health care settings including homes, hospitals, physicians' offices, and emergency management.

What is MyHealthArchive?

MyHealthArchive is a revolutionary tool which gives patients the power to collect their own health information and then access it using a secured website, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Why was MyHealthArchive created?

MyHealthArchive was created because Dr. Davies saw in his practice that medical care is delayed, reduced in quality and sometimes less safe when full medical records are not available. Medical care has lower quality when patients are not at its center and are not actively participating. MyHealthArchive was designed to place the patient in control of his or her medical records. Putting the patient in control of his or her medical records strongly reduces disorganization and fragmentation that occurs when patients receive care and treatment at various locations or change health insurance plans. MyHealthArchive can improve access to patient's health history information and improve patient safety through better communication and coordination of medical care.

Why should I join?

Medical records tend to be spread between various hospitals, physicians' offices, clinics, and other locations, including the local health department and pharmacies. It is often difficult to remember the names of prior doctors, hospitals, medications and diagnoses. In an emergency or when seeking new treatment, it is difficult to gain access to or even remember this information. MyHealthArchive solves the ability to access medical history information while at the same time honoring privacy concerns.

What are the benefits of family subscriptions?

First, family subscriptions are offered at a substantial discount. Second, it is helpful to designate friends and family with either complete or limited access to your personal health archive because they can provide useful information to your physicians and health care providers in the event of an emergency and/or your inability to communicate your history yourself. Third, family subscriptions are a way to ensure that your family is always protected when away from home with the ability to have personal and professional access to medical history for routine medical care or emergencies.

How do I utilize a subscription to MyHealthArchive?

All you need is access to the Internet and we will guide you in compiling your medical history. For an annual (12 month) subscription fee or quarterly payments you will be able to access your personal medical information anywhere, anytime through a combination of a guided interview and information that you have uploaded, including labs, x-rays, and hospital or clinic visit records.

How can MyHealthArchive benefit me if I am not ill?

Even if you are not ill, MyHealthArchive is a very useful technology that can help you keep track of your health care information so that your visits to your physician are more effective and efficient. MyHealthArchive can help you record important measurements such as your cholesterol, weight, blood pressure, and other parameters which can indicate how well you are doing on a particular treatment plan. And because you never know when disaster may strike, MyHealthArchive can help you prepare for an unforeseen health event so that your physicians have rapid access to critical medical information which may be necessary to optimize your treatment.

How can MyHealthArchive benefit me if I am ill?

Whether you have acute or chronic illnesses, MyHealthArchive can benefit you by providing your physicians and health care providers with the most up-to-date information about your medical problems and treatments. Communicating as much information as possible to your physicians can help make a difference in the length of your hospitalization as well as your safety and can prevent omissions as well as redundancies in your care and treatment.

What does MyHealthArchive provide that I do not have today?

Today, most people do not have a centralized method of collecting their medical history and medical records. Most people do not have secure access to their medical records. Most people do not have someone else or some other entity performing these functions for them, either, either. MyHealthArchive provides you the means to compile your personal health information as completely as you can, securely stores what you have collected, and provides secure and timely access to you and your physicians over the Internet, at virtually anytime

What makes MyHealthArchive unique?

MyHealthArchive was conceived by a physician and built by a development team encompassing medicine, nursing, information technology, encryption science and law. The clinicians on the team have seen first-hand how important it is to have their patient's health information readily available in order to make the best possible diagnoses and treatment decisions. The structure of the website was designed to provide detailed guidelines for our subscribers so that they can be as thorough as possible in providing information about their current health and prior health history. Beyond this, MyHealthArchive provides flexibility, in terms of the amount and type of medical information that can be included in a subscribers health archive; when and where information can be accessed; and a subscriber may elect determine what information should be released and to whom.

What if I don't have my Subscriber ID card with me and I have to go to the emergency room?

MyHealthArchive cannot release information based on just a name, because two people might have the same name and we need to ensure that the request is a legitimate request authorized by you, the subscriber.  Therefore, we have to have the user name and password from your identification card. We are developing a variety of alternative identification tools, such as neck tags and bracelets so that you could be identified if you were in a disaster. We will soon provide the service of downloading your history onto a CD that you can also keep with your personal effects if you must be separated from the Internet or your identification card. If you are planning to travel or if you see that you are going to be caught in a disaster situation, we suggest that you use the perforation in your identification card to attach the card to your body so that it will not be easily lost.

How does MyHealthArchive comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements?

MyHealthArchive's web-based technology provides protected and HIPAA compliant access to personal health information virtually anywhere in the world that a computer can connect to the Internet. MyHealthArchive is compliant with federal regulations, such as HIPAA because granting access to health information is voluntary and consensual. Access by health care providers is only shared for purposes of treatment, coordination of care, patient identification, family location and notification.

What measures have been taken to protect my security and privacy?

Your information is securely encrypted using our CryptoEngine. This CryptoEngine utilizes the same encryption that is used for top secret communications within the United States Government, including the Department of Defense. MyHealthArchive uses AES-256 Bit encryption, which in mathematical terms is the level of security of an online bank, SQUARED. This means the level of security of MyHealthArchive uses far exceeds the security of a typical online bank. For more information visit "How It Works"

The Help functions located in the website are for questions about navigation, sign up and so forth. If you have questions about the clinical content you want to put into your Archive, you may want to have a family member or friend assist you. We are developing a service called MyHealthArchive Personal Assistants which will be people available over the phone to assist you in accumulating your medical records.  

How do I prioritize the medical records that I upload to my personal health archive?

You are free to upload every medical document you can find about yourself. Alternatively you may take the strategy of uploading summaries, letters, and reports that are more concise yet give contact information like the physician's or hospital's name. It is up to you to decide your preference. MyHealthArchive is most useful if it is used, so don't set out to do an excessively huge task if you are going to give up and never use it. Know yourself, and upload what you can manage, and over time complete your Archive as you can.  Your documents may include operative reports, history and physicals, progress notes or consultation notes showing documentation of how a diagnosis was formulated and what treatment plan was recommended. Also, you may want to include laboratory studies or x-ray reports that highlight the important features of your medical illness or progress.

How do I control access to my health archive for family and friends?

Each member of your family and friends that you authorize to access your Archive will receive a separate Family USERNAME and Family PASSWORD. As a subscriber, you will be able to determine which part of your Archive your authorized family and friends can access.

How do I get help if I am having site navigation or questions about what information to put into my personal health archive?

We recognize that some of our subscribers prefer to resolve their questions by speaking with someone on the telephone. Our Help Desk staff has been trained to provide assistance with website navigation and will refer any technical questions to our trained healthcare professionals or technical staff who will follow-up with you to solve your concerns. We will make an effort to resolve subscriber's questions within 24-48 hours of request.

Does MyHealthArchive provide any medical advice?

The services we provide at MyHealthArchive do not include medical advice. We encourage you to seek the counsel of your physician to resolve a medical problem. Call 911 if you have an emergency.

Can insurance companies get access to my personal health information through MyHealthArchive?

You can choose to release or not release your personal health information to your insurance company. It's entirely up to you.

What about international locations?

Your information is stored in redundant secure sites within the United States. All MyHealthArchive staff are United States citizens or residents. The location within the United States confers protections for your information. These protections control the storage and release of your information no matter where in the world you are when you are accessing your Archive.  

What about people of other countries or other languages? 

All people of all countries are welcome to use MyHealthArchive. At present English is the only language used on the website pages. You may store your information in any language you desire.

If my doctor accesses my records, how will you verify I have authorized that to happen?

Anyone who is requesting access to your personal archive must be able to provide both a username and password that you have authorized. You give your physician a username and password. You may change usernames and passwords as often as you like to control how long physicians or others can access your records. In emergency circumstances, your physician will be able to access your records by obtaining this information on your subscriber ID card.

Is MyHealthArchive linked to insurance companies?

MyHealthArchive does not share personal health history information with insurance companies unless the subscriber authorizes an insurance company to access ones' own archive, or if we are required by a subpoena to do so.

How can MyHealthArchive be used for Advance Directives?

Within MyHealthArchive, each subscriber may choose to upload their advance directive so that this may be available to physicians and family members in the event that end-of-life decision-making becomes necessary and your wishes can be honored if you become unable to participate in the decision-making process.

Does MyHealthArchive contain some forms that I can use document my
advance directives?

Rules for living wills vary by state, in terms of both the required content and witnesses for living wills. You might consider reviewing the U.S. Living Will Registry at http://www.uslivingwillregistry.com/forms.shtm or consulting a physician, attorney, or a hospital.

Can I upload any information that I feel is important to have in my archive?

Yes! Your archive should serve as a repository of important information that you wish to have available so that you can access it anywhere, anytime, and when you are away from home. In fact, MyHealthArchive provides you the means to organize your medical records so that you are able to keep track your health from birth onwards. You could also choose to upload non medical documents like certificates, awards, lists, your will, agreements, contracts and so forth.

A really wise thing to upload is a picture of you. This could be for identification, for tracking serial changes, or for sentimental reasons.

Can I ask my doctors to upload medical records, labs, and x-ray or other imaging into my archive?

Absolutely! With your authorization, your physicians and other healthcare providers may upload medical records, labs and images into your archive when you provide your username and password to them so that they may access your archive. There are many advantages to uploading actual copies of medical records and digital images since these may provide helpful information about your health, especially if you are away from routine care that you receive near home.

How often should I update MyHistory?

Your health history should be updated as frequently as there are changes in your health, visits to physicians or hospitals, changes in physicians, starting or stopping medications or medications you are taking or treatments, or when you remember something important.

It is to your benefit to document your most accurate and up-to-date health history into your archive, since physicians and health care providers will utilize the information in your archive to help make decisions about your medical care, especially if you become unable to communicate in your treatment plan. This is your chance to really contribute to your health care.