EvergreenHealth Encourages Community to Use Free Microsoft Service to Store Personal Health Information for Emergencies

KIRKLAND, Wash., July 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In the event of a sudden injury or illness health care providers depend on quick and reliable access to personal health information so they can provide the best possible care.  EvergreenHealth and Microsoft are partnering to provide patients with a free online service to keep crucial emergency health information secure and accessible in one place.

Microsoft HealthVault® – available through EvergreenHealth's comprehensive system of primary, urgent and emergent care – is designed to help patients organize, store and share health information. It combines a personalized emergency health reference card with a code that allows loved ones and emergency medical providers to access a security-enhanced account with detailed health information.

EvergreenHealth encourages patients to use the tool for the critical assistance it can provide in emergency situations when the information is needed immediately. Personal health information cards are fairly common, but HealthVault builds on this resource by allowing access to more in-depth records that are accessible from almost anywhere.

"This tool is extremely useful," said Dr. Brad Younggren, medical director of the EvergreenHealth Emergency Preparedness Program. "In addition to the wallet-sized card, a patient-driven electronic medical record can be accessed from anywhere around the world with Internet access."

EvergreenHealth's partnership with HealthVault is the first such one for Microsoft. "This partnership is particularly meaningful to us on the HealthVault team because many of us and our families receive care at EvergreenHealth," said Sean Nolan, Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft. "Using HealthVault to prepare a family for a medical emergency is easy and takes just a few minutes. We're proud to be working with innovative partners like EvergreenHealth that are always looking for new ways to improve the care they can offer the community."

HealthVault account services include:

• an emergency health profile containing information on medications, allergies, conditions and more
• wallet cards that offer important health information at a glance
• access codes for emergency medical technicians and trusted personal contacts
• a security-enhanced account to store, organize and share your health information

Anyone who is interested in creating a HealthVault account can visit the EvergreenHealth account creation page to fill out their personal health information.

To learn more about EvergreenHealth's Emergency Preparedness Program, visit the website at www.evergreenhealth.com/emergency_prep or call the 24-hour Nurse Navigators and Healthline at 425.899.3000.

About EvergreenHealth
EvergreenHealth, a public hospital district and community-based health care organization established in 1972, offers a breadth of services and programs that is among the most comprehensive in the region. More than 950 physicians provide clinical excellence within more than 80 specialties, including cardiac, oncology, surgical care, orthopedics, a Neuroscience Institute, Women's and Children's services, hospice care, pulmonary care, a Sleep Disorders Center and Home Care services. EvergreenHealth serves more than 400,000 residents in its primary service area of northern King and southern Snohomish counties with EvergreenHealth Primary Care, a network of primary and urgent care practices, and its main hospital campus in Kirkland, Wash. EvergreenHealth also provides emergency care at two sites: its main hospital campus and the EvergreenHealth Redmond Medical Center. In addition to clinical care, EvergreenHealth offers extensive community health outreach and education programs, anchored by EvergreenHealth Nurse Navigators and Healthline, a 24/7 nurse consultation service. For more information, visit www.evergreenhealth.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Ken LeBlond
Program Manager – Public Relations
EvergreenHealth
425.899.1886
[email protected]

Kristi Clough
Firmani + Associates Inc.
206.443.9357
[email protected]

SOURCE EvergreenHealth

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