Cindy’s Health Journey

Cindy’s Health Journey Part 1: The Experiment Begins

Project Inspiration:
Health 2.0 is working on a new documentary focusing on the experience and outcomes of patients using Health 2.0 tools and technologies to manage their health.
They are currently following five individuals around the nation as they embark on their journeys to achieve healthy living through the use of Health 2.0 tools and communities.
The film will debut at Health 2.0 on October 6, 2009 in San Francisco.
http://health2con.com

My Goals
improve my health
draw attention to existing (free and inexpensive) Health 2.0 tools
offer tangible suggestions for how health care reform could be expanded to prioritize individual health outcomes

My Health I don’t have access to much of my personal health information, but I have the results of a wellness screening from when I was 31 (on paper) and my Kaiser Permanente data from last year in my electronic health record (EHR). Age 31 Age 36 Total cholesterol 151 180 LDL 84 107 HDL 50 55 BMI 23 25 Weight 160 174

Health 2.0 Tools
I have access to a great personal health record (PHR) through Kaiser Permanente, but…
I don’t know how much longer I will be a Kaiser Permanente member (unless health care reform breaks the link between employment and health insurance)
most people don’t have KP coverage

Microsoft HealthVault
I more or less flipped a coin to choose between Google Health and HealthVault.
I arbitrarily chose HealthVault.
(disclaimer: I have yet to receive any payment from Microsoft for the free advertising. I guess it wouldn’t be free advertising anymore. At least you know my current reviews are not biased in favor of Microsoft.)

What I Want: #1
a central place to store my medical information, e.g.:
Age 31 Age 36 Age 41 Age 46 Total cholesterol 151 180 ? ? LDL 84 107 ? ? HDL 50 55 ? ? BMI 23 25 ? ? Weight 160 174 ? ?

What I Want: #2
a central place to store and track the things I do that influence my health, like riding my bike to work:

BTW, Did You Notice?!
Over the course of 5 years , I…
gained 14 lbs
my total cholesterol went up 29 points

Ouch! (Health care reform shouldn’t be about rhetoric and politics. It should be about health.)

What Am I Going to Do With My Health Information?
use it for motivation
use it to track progress towards my health goals
share what I learn

Motivation
Do I want to gain another 14 lbs. by the time I am 41?
(Answer: Nope)
Do I want my cholesterol to be approaching the 250 mark by the time I am 46?
(Answer: No, thanks)

Track Progress So far, I’ve started a virtual bike trip from Washington, DC to Ann Arbor, MI and started using a pedometer to count my daily steps .

What are you doing with your health data?

For more information, contact me:
[email_address]
or visit
http://www.open-health.us/topics/cindys-health-journey

Cindy’s Health Journey

by Cindy Throop on Sep 07, 2009

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Cindy’s Health Journey — Presentation Transcript

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