In today's world of online shopping, internet banking and search engines that give us access to infinite information, it should come as no surprise that people can conveniently access their personal medical information online as well.

Do you ever forget when your doctor appointment is? Or do you ever need to quickly reference your child's vaccination records? MyChart can help with that.

MyChart is a secure website that gives patients convenient 24-hour access to their personal health information from Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System. It offers benefits that go way beyond just accessing medical records. Whether or not you have ‘stepped through the portal' by activating your SRHS MyChart account, let's take a closer look and see what it can do for you.

The MyChart website and mobile phone app are free of charge and allow Spartanburg Regional patients to securely:

• view test results and medical records

• make appointments

• request prescription refills

• communicate directly with their doctors

• pay bills

• access immunization records

• examine family medical information

Healthcare providers and patients who use a secure portal like MyChart report multiple benefits, including better communication and higher overall satisfaction, according to studies from Geisinger Health System, Kaiser Permanente, and the American Journal of Medical Quality.

Courtney Oglesby works in the front office of Medical Group of the Carolinas — Family Medicine — Boiling Springs. Since MyChart was implemented, her office has enrolled more than 10,000 patients in MyChart.

Courtney said that MyChart can help patients in their everyday lives:

How does MyChart help both doctors' offices and patients?                                       

MyChart allows our office to communicate with our patients more efficiently. Patient messages come right to my desktop. For patients, sending communications through MyChart is much easier and more time-efficient.

On busy days, MyChart allows me to schedule appointment requests between checking patients in and answering the phone. This allows me to give each patient more individual, uninterrupted service and attention.  

How hard is it to get patients to sign-up for MyChart, and how do you get them to do it?

Some people don't think they need MyChart, but when they start using it, they love it. Most patients are eager to sign-up once we tell them how easy MyChart makes it for them to refill their medications, make their own appointments, and make payments. They like the convenience of entering a credit card into MyChart so they don't have to pull it out every time they come in to see us. The biggest selling feature, by far, about MyChart is the ability for them to communicate directly with their doctor.

Have you heard positive comments from patients about using MyChart? 

Patients say they appreciate not having to wait on the phone, particularly when they don't have an urgent matter. They also like having fast and direct access to their test results, even mammograms, which most patients tend to be very anxious about.

How does MyChart help patients communicate better with their doctor? 

It really helps that doctors can relay messages directly and easily to their patients. For example, if lab test results need to be explained, MyChart gives doctors the ability to include explanations and next steps for patients instead of sending the information by mail.

Are there any other areas of your office that you know are positively impacted by MyChart? 

MyChart gives patients the ability to fill forms out online before they come to our office. This helps cut down the amount of time their visit would normally take. This is a definite benefit for work flow and patient satisfaction.

How do you help your patients see the benefits of MyChart? 

When I give our patients a personal example about how I use MyChart for my own family, it really helps them see the benefits. I also make it a point to tell them that MyChart has mobile apps for Apple and Android, and how convenient and accessible MyChart is on a mobile phone by using a Touch ID or PIN.

When you are using your own MyChart, what do you think are the most helpful features? 

Most importantly, I love the MyChart proxy feature that allows a family to combine all of their medical record information into one MyChart account. Having access to my children's information on one screen, instead of having to sign-in to each of our individual accounts, is very convenient. I like having one place to look-up our appointments – especially those that I made six months ago and forgot about!

MyChart makes healthcare management faster and better, but only if people take the initiative to use it. If you still haven't signed up for MyChart – what are you waiting for? Nothing is more important than your health, and technology like MyChart makes it easier than ever to keep track of it.

Download the MyChart app to register, or visit us online.