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September 26, 2009
Victor Battles,
M.D.
The preparation phase of filing for health
insurance is an excellent time to implement a
computer-based personal health record (PHR)
because you can proverbially kill two birds
with one stone, i.e. begin the creation of your
own all important personal medical record and
decrease the likelihood of being denied medical
insurance coverage or experiencing gaps in your
coverage known as pre-existing exclusions if
your application is approved because of
incorrect information entered on your
application. The online health insurance
application process from acquisition of health
insurance quotes to the final application
approval is a streamlined one which is designed
to enable you to find the best insurance for
you in the least amount of time, but if you do
not have the proper information pertaining to
your health while going through the process,
the efficiency that is intended may be
minimized or negated.
The creation of a personal health record as you
prepare to file for health insurance online
probably can not only help you more efficiently
and accurately go through the application
process and find the health insurance that is
best for you, but can also be of immense value
to you in the future in other settings such as
applying for a job, applying for various
licenses that require health information,
obtaining an airman medical certificate if you
are a pilot, and preparing for visits to
doctors or other health care providers, only to
mention a few.
In applying for health insurance, as is the
case in virtually any application proceeding,
going through the process without having
documents to refer to can be very frustrating
and might result in incorrect information being
submitted causing your application to be
denied, and in the worst case scenario, a
conviction for health insurance
fraud.
In deciding whether not to grant you medical
insurance, insurance companies want to know a
number of things about your past and current
health such as past illnesses, current
illnesses, dates of onset of symptoms
pertaining to diagnosed and non-diagnosed
medical conditions, surgeries, past and present
medications, allergies, immunizations and even
some details about the health of family members
inasmuch as some conditions have hereditary
links. Not all insurance companies use the same
application form, but to get a good idea of
additional information that you need to focus
on entering into your personal health record in
preparation for the application process you can
download a standard insurance application for
your state from a site on the Internet. You may
be able to obtain some of the relevant
information from paper records you already have
such as copies of superbills from doctor
visits, a health diary, prescription receipts,
prescription bottle labels or notes you have
taken during actual doctor visits. As you
gather this information prior to applying for
health insurance online is a good idea to
organize it for quick and easy reference during
the health insurance online application process
by entering it into the appropriate sections of
your PHR.
It is unlikely that you will have all the
information you need at your fingertips, thus
it might be necessary to obtain some of that
information from your health care provider(s).
While it would not be practical or reasonable
to expect your healthcare provider to review
your office medical record and answer all your
questions during a sick visit or follow up
visit, state laws give you access to review
your medical records upon request during the
office business hours. Because this might be a
unique experience for your healthcare provider
and staff and could engender some concerns
regarding possible litigious intent on your
part, it might be a good idea to be forthright
early on in expressing exactly what your
purpose is for acquiring the information and
why you think having a personal health record
would be of benefit to you and possibly the
health care provider as well.
As you review your office records is a good
idea to take notes of what you can understand
and perhaps make copies of important x-ray and
laboratory reports which can later be
incorporated in your PHR if you have a scanner.
If your medical history is rather complicated
and/or your office record is not legible or
difficult to understand it might be best to
speak with your doctor to see if a special
appointment can be made to review and discuss
the salient features of the record and/or if a
summary with dates and copies of the important
supporting documents such as laboratory reports
and x-rays can be provided. If your doctor has
a very busy schedule and would charge you a
visit to provide this information you might
request assistance from a qualified member of
the staff instead of the doctor per se, if
appropriate.
It is not necessary that your entire personal
health record be finished prior to applying for
health insurance online, but once the basic
information for used for insurance application
has been entered, the remainder of the work
can be done at
your leisure.
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