Patient Spotlight: How Accessing Her Mammogram Reports Gave Mary Back Her Power

For Mary, waiting on her mammogram results was a stressful process, but that all changed when she discovered she could access and share her records with PocketHealth. When Mary caught something important on her mammogram report, she was grateful to have the tools to take control of her own health.

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How did you learn about PocketHealth?

I went for a mammogram and saw one of the PocketHealth posters at the clinic. I thought it was interesting because instead of waiting for my doctor to get results, I could go online and see them myself without having to wait.

Is that what ended up happening? 

Yes, I easily accessed my results. It also gave me access to all past imaging records. I had fractured my wrist two years ago and I could see all of my X-rays and reports from that as well. That was really great.

What was helpful about being able to see that for yourself?

Well, when I went to see the orthopedic surgeon, they had the images on the computer but I didn’t get to see them. This way, I saw the scans and read the reports. Having the ability to monitor my progress myself made a big difference. It’s just nice to know that you can get that information without having to request and pay for a CD.

Has this helped you feel a little more in control of your health?

Oh, definitely. I’ll have a mammogram and then a week later, the images are available online. I don’t have to keep calling my doctor’s office, I know the results are there and I can read the report. They never call you if the results are normal, so if you don’t hear from anyone, you just assume you’re in the clear. But how do you know for sure that your results are normal? 

I’ve heard of people not getting called back, but their mammograms were in fact abnormal and they had no way of knowing. After my last mammogram, the clinic said I didn’t need another one for two years. But when I read the doctor’s report on PocketHealth, he said I should get a mammogram every year. If I had decided to wait two years to go and get one and something abnormal appeared on my scans – imagine knowing it could have been caught sooner. It could make all the difference when you’re trying to catch cancer early so that you can treat it effectively. It was a good check — a cross reference.

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Did having these records help you discover anything you didn’t know?

It’s helpful to see the different reports through the years. It’s nice to be able to compare different mammograms. You’re able to look out for yourself and your health — I found it quite helpful. 

Have you found PocketHealth easy to use?

Oh, very easy. You log on and you look at your scans as well as the actual reports. I’ve never had a problem; it has been a very positive experience.

What type of person or patient do you think would get the most use out of PocketHealth?

I think everybody. For any type of imaging you need to have — but certainly for mammograms — it’s a really great site to check your imaging. I have a sore hip, so if I go for a hip X-ray, I know I go online and see the results myself.

Do you have any thoughts on how to improve the service?

What more can you want? You get your X-ray, you get the actual doctor’s report — I don’t see what else you would need. If you have any issues, you can always speak to your doctor about what you see. You can decide what you want to do by reading the report yourself.

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PocketHealth is putting hundreds of thousands of patients just like Mary back in charge of their healthcare journey by giving them easy online access to all their medical imaging and making it a breeze to share this information with doctors and care providers around the world.