title: What is Missing from this Picture? Empowering the Health Consumer.
abstract: As patients, we are told that we own all of our personal medical information, but we do not necessarily have it, control it or have immediate access to it. It is not portable enough to be carried in a pocket or purse or to take it with us when we travel. It is not readily accessible when we move to a new town, need to visit a new medical practitioner and are required to fill out yet another paper "Intake Form" when we hope to remember all of the answers to the questions but likely don't! Moreover, we do not want the government being a "Big Brother" controlling our personal medical information, storing it on the "Cloud" and ultimately transferring its management to a U.S. based Company as has happened with other personal medical related services. It is time we, as owners and prospective patients, are not only empowered, but trusted to manage and be responsible for storing our own health records.
authors: Victoria, Canada.
authors: Gail
authors: G
authors: Gabel
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D055991:Health Records, Personal; D006801:Humans; D011209:Power, Psychological