How best to track medical expenses and medical records? (Redux)
August 22, 2016 9:55 AM Subscribe
I'm trying to get a mystery illness diagnosed and need a way to keep all the labs organized so I can show each new doctor.
I'm looking for an update to this 2014 question: http://ask.metafilter.com/264082/How-best-to-track-medical-expenses-and-medical-records
Perhaps in that time there have emerged better apps and tools? All the other questions I found on the green were older still. The thing I want the most is to keep all these test results available and organized to show to new doctors. Bonus features are things like tracking costs, tracking my appointments (who, what, where, when), charting results over time, storing copies of tests that can't be written in (like x-rays).
But given the lack of options in the previous questions, I'd be happy just finding an effective way to track my labs. Thanks.
I'm looking for an update to this 2014 question: http://ask.metafilter.com/264082/How-best-to-track-medical-expenses-and-medical-records
Perhaps in that time there have emerged better apps and tools? All the other questions I found on the green were older still. The thing I want the most is to keep all these test results available and organized to show to new doctors. Bonus features are things like tracking costs, tracking my appointments (who, what, where, when), charting results over time, storing copies of tests that can't be written in (like x-rays).
But given the lack of options in the previous questions, I'd be happy just finding an effective way to track my labs. Thanks.
Most electronic medical records display lab results as a spreadsheet, with the type of lab (Hb, Na, etc.) on the vertical axis and the date of the lab on the horizontal axis, with the dates running from the most recent on the left and the oldest on the right. There may be better ways to display this, but it's a format your physicians will be used to working with.
One of the nice things about this is that for labs that are done infrequently, you can see that they WERE done because they have an entry, and then you can scroll over to the right to see the date showing how old they are.
You could also put other kinds of tests in this spreadsheet (chest xray, etc) and the person looking at them can look at the date and then go through your other material to find the details of the study.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 12:32 PM on August 22, 2016
One of the nice things about this is that for labs that are done infrequently, you can see that they WERE done because they have an entry, and then you can scroll over to the right to see the date showing how old they are.
You could also put other kinds of tests in this spreadsheet (chest xray, etc) and the person looking at them can look at the date and then go through your other material to find the details of the study.
posted by The Elusive Architeuthis at 12:32 PM on August 22, 2016
This thread is closed to new comments.
Their UI for entering non-WellnessFX data is very clunky, but it does work. The thing I like is that I can have my results and their pretty graphs over time in one place, including on my iPhone via their app. It makes it super handy for showing it to doctors during appointments.
I'm not sure it can track your appointments or costs, though.
Very highly recommended for actual bloodwork if you do decide to get your own labs done (I was tracking my iron deficiency and wanted results more often than it was easy to get into to see my doctor, etc.). They make it really easy to get the tests you want at a nearby Quest lab.
posted by bananacabana at 10:38 AM on August 22, 2016 [2 favorites]