Frequently Asked Questions

Transcription

1 Frequently Asked Questions What is FollowMyHealth? FollowMyHealth offers you personalized and secure online access to important information in your electronic medical record. FollowMyHealth is available to patients of Alamance Regional Medical Center and to patients of the following physician practices: Burlington Family Practice Cornerstone Medical Center Ely Surgical Associates Mebane Medical Clinic West Burlington Medical Center South Graham Medical Center Encompass Women s Care Alamance Regional Psychiatric Associates Burlington Urological Associates Why should I use FollowMyHealth? FollowMyHealth enables you to securely use the Internet to help manage and receive information about your health. You can use FollowMyHealth to: Request medical appointments with your provider. View your health summary. Access trusted health information resources. Communicate electronically and securely with your physician s office. View test results.

2 Is there a fee to use FollowMyHealth? FollowMyHealth is a service offered free to our patients. How do I sign up? Patients will receive an invitation to sign up for FollowMyHealth. The invitation will include a link that will enable you to log in and create your own username and password. You will need a security code provided to you prior to discharge from the hospital, or before leaving your provider s office. If you have not received an invitation, please contact your provider s office, or the Help Desk toll free at You will be asked a few questions to verify your identity before the help desk will be able to assist you. Why did I receive more than one invitation? If you are a patient of Alamance Regional and one or more of the physician practices affiliated with Alamance Regional, you may receive more than one invitation to join the portal. The first invitation will be used to create your account. Once you have created your account, the second invitation will have a link to the portal log-on screen. You will see the options to Add a Connection, or Create an Account. When you select Add a Connection, you will walk through the same steps you used to create your account. Once the information has been uploaded into your portal account, you can manage your health information easily for each location associated with Alamance Regional. Who do I contact if have more questions? As you activate your FollowMyHealth account and need any technical assistance, please call the Help Desk at (336) 83-CHART ( ) or call toll free at If you have activated your FollowMyHealth account and have non-urgent health-related questions, you can send a message through FollowMyHealth to your healthcare provider. If you have a medical emergency, call 911. What kind of test results will be available? Lab results will be available. Timing of the release of results may vary.

3 What kind of health reminders will I receive? You will receive notifications about new test results, new messages, upcoming appointments and health reminders. What kind of health education information is available? Within FollowMyHealth, users can click on the blue information button to view additional information about specific conditions, and medications. For example, a patient can click the blue i next to the diabetes diagnosis in his list of current health issues to view general information about that diagnosis. If some of my health information in FollowMyHealth is not correct, what should I do? Your FollowMyHealth information comes directly from your electronic medical record. Ask your doctor to clarify information at your next visit. You may also send a message through FollowMyHealth with the correct information. If your information has come from the hospital you can call the Medical Records Department to request an amendment to your record. In your FollowMyHealth record you have the ability to update your contact information as well as other health items. Please know any changes made to your account will not update your provider s record. Notify your provider s office of any changes you make within your FollowMyHealth account. If I send a message to my doctor or nurse through FollowMyHealth, when can I expect a reply? You will generally receive an answer within one business day. Users will receive an notification requesting that they check their FollowMyHealth account when there is new information available. FollowMyHealth should not be used for urgent situations. Please contact your medical center if the situation requires immediate attention or dial 911 in an emergency.

4 Can my spouse and I share one FollowMyHealth account? No, due to the sensitive nature of medical information, each adult must establish his or her own account. Can I view a family member's health record in FollowMyHealth? Yes, you can with that person s written consent. This is called proxy access and allows a FollowMyHealth user to log into their personal FollowMyHealth account, and then connect to the family member s FollowMyHealth account. Once you have established your account, you have the ability to invite a family member to become a proxy for your portal account. In the hospital you can request a Proxy Access form. This form needs to be completed and sent to the Health Information Management (HIM) Department for review and approval. After approval, an invitation will be sent to the address you provided. You will need a security code before you can activate the proxy account; This code should be provided to you prior to receiving your proxy invitation. Can children and teenagers have FollowMyHealth accounts? Once teenagers turn 18, they can request a FollowMyHealth account and access to their electronic medical records. Parents and guardians can request electronic access through proxy to their child s medical record until the child s 12 th birthday. Because certain diagnoses and treatment information is protected for adolescents (ages 12-17), we do not offer electronic access through FollowMyHealth to their medical records. Parents and guardians can request copies of available medical information for adolescents through the appropriate physician office or Health Information Management Department until the child reaches age 18.

5 Where can I update my personal information (e.g., home address, or change my password)? Log into FollowMyHealth and click on the My Info tab. You have the ability to change the information in this section as well as update your emergency contact information, responsible party information, and your insurance information. Click the save button to be sure your changes are saved within your account. Please note these changes will not update your provider s records and will need to be communicated with your provider at your next office visit. How is FollowMyHealth secure? We take great care to ensure your health information is kept private and secure. Access to information is controlled through secure activation codes, personal usernames and passwords. Each person controls his or her password, and the account cannot be accessed without that password. FollowMyHealth uses the latest encryption technology. Unlike conventional , all FollowMyHealth messaging is done while you are securely logged in to our site. What is your Privacy Policy? FollowMyHealth is fully compliant with federal and state privacy laws. Your contact information will be treated with the same privacy given to your health records. I was logged out of FollowMyHealth what happened? We aim to protect the privacy and security of your information. While logged into FollowMyHealth, if your keyboard remains idle for 10 minutes or more, you will be automatically logged out of FollowMyHealth. We recommend you log out of your FollowMyHealth session if you need to leave your computer for even a short time. What tools do I need to use FollowMyHealth? You need access to a computer connected to the Internet and an up-to-date browser (such as Internet Explorer).

6 Is my security code my user ID? No, your security code is not your FollowMyHealth username or password. You will use this code only once to log into FollowMyHealth for the first time. (Your invitation to join FollowMyHealth will expire after you have used it, or after 30 days). When you log into FollowMyHealth the first time, you will then be asked to create your own unique FollowMyHealth username and password. What should I do if my security code does not work? For your security, your invitation to join FollowMyHealth expires after 30 days and is no longer valid after the first time you use it to create your username and password. If you have problems with either your invitation or security code, contact the help desk toll free at or your provider s office. Does FollowMyHealth offer a mobile app? Yes, there is a free mobile app available from FollowMyHealth from the itunes App Store or Google Play. Search for FollowMyHealth to find and download the app. You can choose to receive notifications by text messages, which will not contain personal health information.