MyChart: Moving Medicine into the Future
When the world is ordinary, most people don’t enjoy going to the doctor’s office. Since COVID-19 struck, people are even more resistant to going into the office. This makes sense, as you are potentially exposing yourself to germs. Many people are just avoiding going to the doctor unless it’s essential. MyChart is helping out with this dilemma.
What is MyChart?
MyChart is a website/phone app where you can access your medical records. For instance, you can see test results, blood work information, and billing history.
There are a variety of other things you can do as well. For example, you can pay your bills, request prescription refills, and make appointments as well. Along with this, you can set up virtual doctor’s visits, so you don’t have to go into the office.
Benefits of MyChart
Access Information on the Go
There’s nothing quite as frustrating as needing your medical information for something and not being able to access it because it’s all sitting at home in a safe place. MyChart eliminates this frustration. If you have a smartphone, you can access all your medical information with just a few clicks.
Reduces Physical Office Visits
It’s not uncommon to hear someone say something to the effect of “Well if I wasn’t sick when I went in, I’m probably sick now.” Physically going to the doctor’s office puts you at risk of contracting an illness you didn’t already have. MyChart allows you to do a virtual doctor’s visit where they can discuss with you whatever you need to talk about. However, there are some cases where you will have to physically go in because the doctor needs to check something.
Clarity on Results
Sometimes when you’re at the doctor’s office, and they are going over blood work results, they start spouting off numbers representing your levels of whatever they were measuring. Unless you work in the medical field, you probably have no idea what any of those numbers mean. With MyChart, you can look at the numbers at home and do a little research on what they actually mean.
Reminders
You don’t want to get a call from your doctor’s office asking you why you didn’t show up for your appointment. It’s easy to forget your appointment date or time. With MyChart, they can send you a reminder about your appointment.
This is especially helpful with the two-dose shot for the COVID-19 vaccine. MyChart can send you a reminder to get your second dose of the shot. It is also looking likely that the COVID-19 vaccine is something we will have recurring booster shots for. MyChart can send you a reminder to get those scheduled as well.
How Do I Sign Up?
If you are seeing a doctor who uses MyChart, it’s very simple to sign up. You can go to the MyChart website, and it will guide you through the process. Once you have created your account, you will have to be approved. Once that occurs, you will have access to your medical records.
When you want to sign in to your MyChart account, you will have to use multi-factor authentication. This means that along with your standard username and password, you will be required to use an outside element to sign in. This could be an email, a text message, or an authenticator app.
The COVID-19 Pandemic has caused a surge in telemedicine. Even doctors were asking patients not to physically come in unless it was absolutely necessary. The development of MyChart shows the direction healthcare is headed. It is likely that as time goes on, telemedicine will be the way of the future, and physical visits will be the way of the past.
At Alvarez Technology Group, we want to help you with your technology needs. Contact us today for more information.
