How PocketHealth can help you stay on top of your family’s health

Our Patient Spotlight Series allows us to share stories from people in our community who have used PocketHealth to make positive changes in their lives. This week, we caught up with Katherine, who uses the platform to help keep track of her family’s health.

How did you discover PocketHealth?

A few years ago my husband was getting a scan in Timmins, something to do with his heart, dye being put in his heart, and I read it on the wall. And we hooked up to it from there.

And are you using it for multiple people in your family?

Yeah, I have a family account and it’s all used up. There’s not enough people included. I just wish you could add more people to the account. I have five kids, so.

Have you found that having access to your imaging has been helpful when you go to the doctor?

Yes. Yes, all the time.

Does it change how you approach your appointments or how you prepare for them?

It just holds you more accountable. You know before you go in there what’s going to happen. And if you read the report when you get it, you know that if there’s something on it that has to be looked at and the doctor isn’t calling you in a suitable amount of time, you can call and say “Hey, what’s going on?” And that’s exactly what I did today. 

So you used the report you had to push for the follow up you were waiting for?

Yeah, because the doctor was waiting for results and I knew I got them because I got an email and I opened it up and I looked, so I knew I had it. So I waited a few days and he didn’t call, so I called him and he said that he didn’t get it yet, which probably meant it hadn’t been read yet. And I said, “Well actually it has been read because I have a report myself through PocketHealth.” And then we started getting into what PocketHealth was and he said he was going to look into it for himself. Anyway, he said “You know, we don’t normally do this, but can you send me what you have?” So I just sent him the whole file through email and he was really surprised by it and he said “Oh, I think they sent it to me already” and I said “Was it through PocketHealth?” and he said “Yeah” and I said “No, that’s the one I just sent you.” That surprised him as well, because it had everything there, so it was just like it was sent through [normally].

Do you feel like PocketHealth has given you more power in the healthcare system?

I do. 100%. You’re more proactive. You’re more accountable. Nothing can slip through the cracks because you know.

What kind of person or patient do you think would benefit most from PocketHealth?

I think everybody would. My daughter was a cancer patient in 2006 and this would have been helpful to have. I knew from her being a cancer patient that things move a lot faster than they say they do, with tests and exams. And I’ve always been proactive in trying to get scans and stuff like that right away instead of listening to, like the doctor’s assistant today saying “Oh, it’s probably not read yet.” So now I can say “No. I know it’s read.” My husband had a heart attack a couple of years ago and he’s having problems with his heart, so it’s something I can fall back on and say “No, this is unacceptable. Why haven’t you got it?” And, like I said, that’s actually saved me a few times. I couldn’t ask for anything else. It’s been the best thing since—since ever.

 

PocketHealth is putting hundreds of thousands of patients just like Katherine back in charge of their healthcare journey by giving them easy online access and ownership of all their medical imaging and making it a breeze to share this information with doctors and care providers around the world. To access your medical imaging and records, please visit us here.