U of UT Health Care gives patients easy access to medical records

No more anxiously waiting on hold for a doctor's office to make an appointment, refill a prescription, check test results or ask a question. All of that can now be done on-the-go. MyChart — an iPhone, iPad, iTouch application that provides easy access to medical records — made its local debut last week, to anyone who is a patient within the University of Utah Health Care system of hospitals and clinics. "We just view this as another opportunity to put the patients first in terms of care and to be able to provide additional services for patients that make receiving and monitoring their care more and more convenient," said Rob Lloyd, executive director for the U.'s ambulatory services and community clinics. For the past 10 years, physicians within the university's healthcare system have been using an electronic medical record to organize patient information. In the past year, that information has been made accessible to patients online, and now, "we've gone from the computer to in my pocket," said Curtis Newman, U. Health Care information services director.