Community

New Spectrum Health App Offers Easy Access to Personal Health Information

Spectrum Health patients can now easily carry important health information in the palm of their hand.

VIEW THE YOUTUBE VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4shz3ani0II

Spectrum Health is introducing a free smartphone application – MySpectrumTM – that features:

  • Lab Test Results and Appointments
    – Securely view results for common lab tests and check appointment times and locations through your secure MySpectrum website account
  • Urgent Care Wait Times
    – Instantly view which Spectrum Health urgent care locations have the fewest patients waiting to see the doctor
  •  Locations
    –Easily find addresses, maps, estimated drive times and phone numbers for Spectrum Health locations
  •   Physicians
    –Obtain addresses, maps and phone numbers for primary care or specialist physicians
  •  Should You Call a Doctor?
    –Check medical symptoms

Spectrum Health’s smartphone application is currently available for the Apple iPhone® and Android®. A version for BlackBerry® users will be available in December.

Spectrum Health is also making secure personal health information available through MySpectrum at spectrum-health.org.

On the website, patients can:

  • View lab results for many common tests
  • E-mail secure messages to their doctor’s office
  • Renew prescriptions
  • Request appointments for routine doctor visits
  • Preregister for some procedures
  • Pay bills for hospital services
  • Track health conditions, allergies, medications and more
  • Access information on health topics of interest
  • Obtain pricing for common procedures

Patients access the service using a personal identification number (PIN).

“This is a secure online environment that patients can feel safe using,” said Janelle Logan, director, Eservices, Spectrum Health. “This will help our patients make informed health decisions and will make critical information available to them when and where they need it.”

Logan says family MySpectrum accounts are being developed so parents will have access to their children’s health information.

In addition to being featured on the smartphone app, wait times at the five Spectrum Health Urgent Care Centers are available online at spectrum-health.org/urgent or by calling 1.866.SH-URGENT.

Logan cautions that urgent care is for situations that are not life threatening.

“In a medical emergency, people should immediately call 911 and get to a hospital emergency room,” she added.

Spectrum Health is a not-for-profit health system in West Michigan that offers a full continuum of care through the Spectrum Health Hospital Group, a collection of eight hospitals and more than 170 service sites; the Spectrum Health Medical Group, mmpc® and West Michigan Heart—physician groups totaling more than 500 providers; and Priority Health, a health plan with nearly 580,000 members. Spectrum Health’s 16,000 employees, 1,500 medical staff members and 2,000 volunteers are committed to delivering the highest quality care. The organization provided $79.4 million in community benefit during its 2009 fiscal year. In 2010, Spectrum Health was named a Top 10 Health System by Thomson Reuters.