How do we value Personal Health Information

This week I had coffee with a colleague and the conversation came around the challenges of accessing personal health information.  The concept of a personal health record was new to him and his first and immediate reaction was “I don’t want to control my health information”.  The thought of managing his health history was overwhelming; he instinctively believed it to be beyond the time, energy and expertise that he had to offer.  He saw no value in it.

 I smiled and said “in 15 seconds I can convince you that you DO want to control your personal health information”.  The gauntlet was thrown.

My colleague is a business professional in his early fifties, successful with a loving family and no significant health issues.  “Do you travel often?” I asked.  “All the time” he responded.  “What would happen if you collapsed in another city, province or country?  Would you want emergency personnel to know about any health conditions, prescriptions, allergies, what blood type you are and where to reach your emergency contacts?”  A light went on.  He was beginning to understand the value of his health information, what it could mean in an emergency situation, how it could potentially save his life. 

How we value our health information differs for each and every one of us depending largely on our current health status.  While I don’t have the statistics at my fingertips (although I’m sure there is a study out there somewhere), I’m certain that the value we place on our health information increases when the condition of our health decreases.  My colleague is a healthy guy, he doesn't think about his health information because he doesn't really think about his health.  Taking our good health for granted is just human nature.

A few days ago I read about a young woman who probably never takes her health for granted. Suleika Jaouad lives in New York City and is chronicling her experiences dealing with cancer in Life, Interrupted .  Super storm Sandy disrupted more than her access to cable television and public transportation, it disrupted her chemotherapy treatments.  She was in an evacuation area and had no electricity, hot water, cell phone service or heat.  This week she wrote about the impact of Sandy.  “For me, as a cancer patient, it also means that it is challenging to get a hold of a doctor, find my way to a hospital or get emergency medicine if I need it. Sewage mixed with the storm water flowing in the streets, and I was worried about the risk of infection.” For her, the value of having access to her personal health information may be the ability to quickly access treatment in another city when disaster hits. 

At the opposite end of the health status spectrum, a friend commented recently that her eye glass prescription had been sitting on her kitchen sill for 3 months and wouldn't it be great if she had it electronically and didn't have to remember the piece of paper.  To her, the value in having electronic access to her prescription information was the convenience of not having to remember a slip of paper.

Our health issues are important to us whether we are coping with a serious illness that involves multiple interventions or we are inconvenienced by the need for a stronger prescription to address our nearsightedness.  When dealing with a health issue, we want solutions.  Taking control of our personal health information can make finding and managing the solutions more effective and efficient and, therefore, valuable.  

It’s your health.  It’s your health information.  Manage it well.