Why is your personal health information so important?
Well, you never know when you’ll need it, but when you do, it can be a matter of life and health. Imagine for example, victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, whose homes, businesses and records were all suddenly destroyed. Even if you never have an emergency, it's probably a good idea to keep centralized records of your health information and that of family members in your care.

PHRs provide a single record of all the health care received throughout your lifetime, including copies of the official medical records kept by hospitals and doctors’ offices as well as information supplied by you as the patient. The PHR is like a bibliography of your health history.

How you choose to use your PHR will help determine what form it takes.
Whether or not you choose to share information in your PHR with your healthcare provider is up to you. It can be as short and simple or as lengthy and detailed as you like. It can be in the form of a folder that you keep in a drawer, or electronic files on a flash drive or a combination of data sources compiled and maintained by you.

Some formats have been found to be useful and easy to organize. Feel free to browse some of the sample forms and templates available in the tools and resources section of our site.

If you plan to share information in your PHR with your healthcare provider, then you may wish to consider a format that is compatible with the format or system they use. You control the amount of information in your PHR that is accessible to others.

Ultimately, the more complete and accurate your health information is, the better prepared you are to play an active role in the quality of your healthcare.