The Patient Portal—Help or Hindrance?

These new strains of Covid and the vaccines are a delima. I spoke with our pharmasist this morning and he told us that the new vaccine can cause problem with the heart and can provoke any cancer that may be in your system. We have decided NOT to do this...our choice as it is yours. Please talk to people and get as many opinions as you can before you decide. This is a Physer (sp?) product and is VERY new.

He also said that if you do get Covid it is normally and likely to be mild...again, to each our own decisions. Good Luck all.

Did your pharmacist tell you where he got this information?

The new vaccine is the "next generation" of several previous versions, similar to the way the flu shot changes each year to cover newer strains of the virus. There are no statistics available yet about it because it is just being distributed.

Please read this from the Sloane-Kettering Institute:
https://www.mskcc.org/coronavirus/myths-about-covid-19-vaccines

As for heart risks, there are a VERY small number who develop myocarditis after a Covid vaccine - about 4 events per million injections (primarily in males age 17-30.) By comparison risk of heart problems after being hospitalized for Covid is 6 per 100 cases.

The older you are, the more likely Covid is to be severe enough to send you to the hospital because your immune system is not as strong as a younger person. If you have any or all of the common issues of the older body - high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, lung conditions, you are at even higher risk of getting a severe infection if you get Covid.

It makes me sad to see medical professionals we trust spreading information that is inaccurate or misleading.

Please consider consulting your physician about getting vaccines. They can make the best recommendations based on your health.
Sue

Amen. It is important to look to highly respected medical and scientific institutions for information on vaccines and other health issues. A pharmacist is not a vaccine researcher, not even a medical doctor. It is very unprofessional for a pharmacist (a person with a few years of college and nothing more) to make such comments.

I have had 5 COVID shots. Mt doctor said no more are needed. He said I will be fine if I get COVID (I have never had it).

I trust my doctor here.

I love the Patient Portal. I find it helpful, but yes, it can be a little stressful when something is there that may be serious. My dictors will call and I always have an appointment within days.

There is one thing I noticed. The Radiologist or lab posts immediately once reports are read. However, when my PCP has ordered a test as of late, he has the results sent to him and then he posts them with an explanation.

I have looked up the myths you asked and don't think that big pharm has not had something to do with this. They are in business of wellness AND to make money. I stand on my previous decisions.

I am dealing with 5 of them. I have some basic issues with portals in part from having been in the IT business some time ago. In my current business role I need to access numbers of web sites daily. My issues are the same with web sites and medical portals. Every one thinks theirs is crystal clear. Few are. I find the medical portals overly complex even to just access them and to try to find the basic needs. Readers here may all know that there are some "software providers" that many medical faculties use. I unfortunately discovered that two medical clinics that subscribed to portal software from the same vendor were also sharing information about my medical results. The two clinics had no connection with each other at all. Another issue is your medical history and Rx you are taking or have been. They often only use the literal medical Rx names; so, I too often don't know what they are referencing or they are overly complex when you recognize them and need to change them. Just some thoughts here.

I have had 5 shots. My doctor told me another shot is unnecessary and that I will be fine if I get COVID. I am not aware of the cancer risk, though. and will check this. I only got the Pfizer vaccines.

Thanks.

Cindy

I worked in high tech industry and led projects for implementing universal databases. It takes time (and patience) to educate people. And sometimes the right person (as someone who understands how a database works and the world of the user) is not the person chosen to implement project. But well-designed databases offer a tremendous opportunity in medicine. It makes it easy to track symptoms and treatment outcomes across a grand variety of clinical pictures.
The idea of having a patient portal tied to a database of information is to make it easy for people to change doctors and to see the results of their tests and doctor's notes. But uniformity is required to segment things correctly in the underlying database - maybe that is why they use generic names of drugs so as not to confuse brand names and generics .
Clinics are supposed to be able to see each other's information on the patient - that is IF you are their patient. That is how they see your whole clinical picture...and also avoid duplicate tests. In the case of a medical emergency that will be critical!!!

Hi, I live in Canada, where we can request access to our records and no one can deny us that, but they are not sent to us automatically. I actually think that this is a really good idea. In this age of multiple specialties, I find doctors are often asking me questions that I don’t have answers to because I did not receive or ask for the reports that were generated. Sometimes I still forget to ask. Since I have an extremely rare illness. DADS-M I believe it’s important to receive all of my healthcare tests and information right away. I would prefer to have a system that automatically sent me reports. I have spent a lot of time researching my illness and I find with the Internet now and with the new AI‘s available it’s very easy to interpret any information on these reports that I do not understand already. We are all different. I do better if I know exactly what’s going on even if it’s scary. Some people would rather not know. You do not have to look at this information if you don’t want to. Our medical system is getting very complicated and without my lay understanding of medical issues, I would’ve been prescribed drugs I am allergic to. And have also prevented other medical mistakes which would’ve been devastating. I don’t blame the doctors so much as the system, where there needs to be a central hub for communication Between Doctors. With the way things are now I believe patients need to take some responsibility for their care if it is possible. Clearly, this is not always possible. Perhaps and I don’t know how your system works in the US but maybe you could designate someone else to receive this information if you don’t want to get it directly, or as one person suggested send it to a trusted friend or relative to hold or interpret. The unfortunate truth in my situation is that none of my doctors have heard of my illness before, and have no understanding of how my particular issues are cross connected with other specialties, and that I do not react normally to many of the procedures and drugs that are usually given even for common conditions. I have allergies to most drugs as well. On balance. I think your system of sending reports to patients is great relative to the problems that can be easily overcome by either ignoring the information, or by giving it to someone else.