MediCruiser presents: Your “Owner’s Manual”

You have a manual for your car, your TV and DVD player, and in fact, for just about everything from a furnace to a toaster. Why not for the most important instrument of all—your body?

We thought it would be helpful for you to have a convenient place for your healthcare documents, sorted into categories for easy access. We call it your Owner’s Manual with records of your medications, allergies, preventive care, etc. – just like your car’s owner manual with your carefully kept up list of the last oil change and tire rotation. (OK, we know most people don’t keep such good car records – but you should for your own body!)

Your Owner’s Manual includes:

	All your medications along with explanations of how they work, why you take them, how long you’ve been on them, their side-effects, and everything you would like to know.
	Your immunizations
	Travel health advice
	Your special health concerns
	The results of your lab tests—explained in simple English (or Spanish)

Bring your Owner’s Manual with you to each clinic visit, so that we can keep it up to date.

Personal access to your information
Your doctor controls your medical record. Although you have a legal right to see it, doctors, clinics and hospitals often make it very difficult for you to do so—by asking, for example, for you to sign releases, pay for photocopying, making a special appointment, and all sorts of other discouragements. Some hospitals charge $4 per page for copying, regardless of records which might be hundreds of pages long.
They really don’t want you to see your record—even though it is yours and you have paid for it!

And what if you DO see your medical record? You can hardly make sense of it. It is a jumble of technical forms that even doctors have difficulty figuring out.

This is an unfair system—and MediCruiser is going to change it!

Electronic option

Don’t like to carry around a big binder? We can put your medical record and information on a CD-ROM or flash drive for you to carry on a key-chain. This information is password protected so only you will be able to open it.

Your Owner’s Manual has both your easy to understand health information, and a separate, detailed technical medical record, which is encrypted so that no one can access your information. We have a sophisticated electronic medical record system that is HIMSS certified and HL7 compatible, allowing hospital emergency departments to have immediate access to your medical record without the usual delay and expense, which can result in unnecessary tests or improper treatment.

You can also upload this electronic form to a website for online access.

Your Owner’s Manual is provided free

Every new patient will get an Owner’s Manual free of charge. Please ask if you would like an update or replacement copy.