How to Track Personal Medical Records

There are many reasons for keeping track of personal medical records: you might want to know the last time you had a physical, any kind of tests or screening, and you will want to know specific dates related to surgery and procedures that you have had. You will also want to track medical information so that you always remember the medications you have been prescribed and how long you took such medications. There are, thankfully, some easy methods for tracking down medical records and tracking them for future reference.

Things You'll Need

• Phone directory
• Fax machine
• Envelopes
• Stamps
• Filing cabinet and folders
• Online medical record storage system
• Storage disc or external hard drive

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Instructions

The Process

• 1

  Jot down a list of all the doctors seen during the time period you are seeking personal medical records for. Use the Internet to locate phone numbers and addresses for the physicians and medical facilities or use the local yellow pages for directory information.

• 2

  Contact each medical facility or doctor's office either by phone or by mail and ask if they still have medical records available for you during the time period specified. Follow up any phone calls with a written request including your name, date of birth, the time period you were treated at the location and any details about specific documents you might want.

• 3

  Speak with a representative at each medical facility, hospital, or doctor's office to ask their procedure for releasing medical records to you. Pay any required fees for records. Fax or mail a request and signed releases for your personal medical records to the medical facility you are in communication with. Question how long it will take to receive the documentation requested if available.

• 4

  Follow up with medical facility representatives and doctors' offices if the records requested do not arrive in a timely fashion. Make secondary requests and offer any necessary signed documentation again if needed.

• 5

  Organize the medical records by year, or order them by procedures you have had, in a filing cabinet or scan them and upload them to an online medical record tracking system. Save backup copies to an external hard drive or disc. Make paper copies and keep second copies in your filing cabinet.