The Savard System To Save Your Own Life.
The Savard System: Taking charge of your health and health decisions.
I always believed patients should have much more power in decision-making and controlling their health information and health decisions.
In addition to managing your medication and health decisions, managing your health information can be life-saving too. Keeping a complete copy of your medical records is something I have long talked and written about. It was the foundation of my Savard System program and the subject of my nationally acclaimed books, How To Save Your Own Life and The Savard Health Record: A Six Step System for Managing and Controlling Your Health Information.
It never made sense that medical records were available to everyone else but the patient, who needed to know the information more than anyone else.
People often tell me there must be a law prohibiting them from seeing the chart whether in your physician’s computer or outside the exam room door. There's a sense of mystery around it. I will never forget the 'Seinfeld" TV episode. Elaine tried to steal her medical chart and got caught, perpetuating the myth that it's not OK to have access to, or even see the information in, your file.
Eight percent of the diagnosis your doctor makes comes from the history she has in front of him, which is often fragmented and incomplete.
Here are some highlights of my Savard System message:
People think they won't be able to understand the information in their medical records, that it's written in Latin. For the most part, the results are written in plain English. Any terms you don't understand can be researched at reputable sites online.
Train yourself to ask for a copy of test results. If your cholesterol or blood sugar levels are high, you can spot it right away by referring to a pervious last blood test, for example. If an x-ray comes back abnormal, you can take action even if your doctor never sees the report! (Trust me, that happens more than you think.) No news is just that, no news.
Make a personal health information list to carry with you all the time. Tuck it in your wallet next to your insurance card. Also, give a copy to each of your health care practitioners and take to the emergency room or hospital.
Include your name, date of birth, phone, e-mail address, serious drug interactions and reactions, important medical conditions and all the medications (over-the-counter and supplements too) you are currently taken...along with information about your doctor and an emergency contact.
Find a 'health buddy'- someone who can help you with questions and the information the doctor reports. Go with a loved one or friend when he or she sees a doctor. Even the most powerful, assertive person can be afraid of what they'll hear from the doctor and forget what was said. Studies show the average person forgets 50 percent of what is told as soon as the appointment is over.
SAVING YOUR LIFE
Answer the following questions true or false:
Do you assume that "no news is good news" when your doctor doesn't call you with test results?
Do you believe that your test results or medical records are in a computer or on file somewhere and could never be misplaced, misread or misfiled?
Do you think doctors you saw previously always send your complete records to you new doctor or to a hospital?
Do you think doctors and pharmacists would never allow you to take- or necessarily warn you about- any medications that could be harmful when mixed with other drugs; prescribed or over-the-counter?
Do you rely on your doctor's office to tell you when to get your preventive tests such as immunizations, colon checks or mammograms?
Do you believe that all of your doctors know your complete family history, medical history and all of the medications (including vitamins and herbal remedies) you currently take?
If you answer yes to any of the above, you're in for a shock. You, not your doctor, pharmacist, or hospital, are the only one who can keep a copy of your complete medical history and current information. It is your life that is on the line.
Some parting statistics to remind you of why you need to keep your own medical records.
As many as 30 percent of doctors do not always tell their patients about abnormal test results.
Many of the 100,000 medical mistakes that occur each year in this country could have been avoided if a medial professional only had the patient's medical history.
Doctors and pharmacists may not necessarily warn you about medications that could be harmful when mixed with other drugs or remedies.
Doctors and many health institutions acknowledge that mistakes get made in medical records.
There is no complete electronic or paper medical record in the health care system today which accurately and completely chronicles a patient's medication, allergies, lab test, surgeries, treatments, illnesses and family medical history.