February 2012
Medenotes keeps Sarah Farnham in
touch with her pathology lab and GP.
Take note of health history
Medenotes is a user-friendly
initiative that gives patients secure internet access to their Barwon Health
medical history.
The free program is currently
exclusive to Barwon Health patients and allows personal online access to
summary information from hospital stays including discharge summaries, ECGs,
blood test results, scans and emergency department presentations.
Medenotes founder Charlie Corke
said a Medenotes account enabled people to ensure vital medical information was
not missed.
‘Keeping your own medical
information can be important.
‘With this system, people can
have their records available whenever they need medical care outside of Barwon
Health,’ Dr Corke said.
Medenotes sends medical records
from Barwon Health to a patient’s secure internet account.
It can be accessed from any
location and, with permission, can be viewed by any GP or health
specialist.
Users can upload their own
documents into their Medenotes accounts – including legal documents such
as a Medical Power of Attorney.
In 2010, Sarah Farnham, aged 32,
developed a deep vein thrombosis in her leg that led to a severe pulmonary
embolism.
The life-threatening illness
meant Sarah required treatment in the Geelong Hospital intensive care unit and
was later placed on long‑term
warfarin treatment to thin her blood.
People who take warfarin require
regular blood testing to maintain the correct dosage.
Soon after her illness, Ms
Farnham was introduced to Medenotes, which gave her instant access to ongoing
treatment results.
‘The frequency of blood tests
and the need to know my INR levels (the international measure for the thinness
of blood) in order to take the right daily amount of warfarin, means that I
have a constant need to be contacted by the pathology lab and local GP.
‘Medenotes has almost immediate
results of blood tests and can provide a guide as to the trends in my INR
levels.
‘It also provides many other
test results and medical information which I have used as a summary for new
treating doctors,’ Ms Farnham said.
