Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do I need the VitalKey?
- How do my medical records get onto the VitalKey?
- How much information can be stored on the VitalKey?
- How do I keep my records up to date?
- How will doctors access my medical information?
- Can I withhold certain information from the VitalKey?
- What if I lose or damage my VitalKey?
- Does a doctor have to have Internet access to view my records on the VitalKey?
- Can I store the medical records of other family members on my VitalKey?
- Can I get a second VitalKey for my spouse or nanny?
- How will an emergency medical professional know that I am carrying my medical records if I am unable to speak?
- I am perfectly healthy. Do I need a VitalKey?
- What information is stored on my VitalKey?
- Why Is VitalKey a Subscription Service?
- Why can’t I build my own portable health record?
- Will my VitalKey work on a Mac?
Why do I need the VitalKey?
Everyone should have easy access to their personal health information. The VitalKey
- allows you to be an active partner in your own health care;
- gives you up-to-date information when and where you need it;
- ensures that your medical records are never lost or destroyed;
- helps you to prepare for appointments;
- facilitates your care in emergencies; and
- helps you track your health changes.
It may surprise you to learn that more than 195,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical errors - often caused by the absence of information regarding a patient’s medical conditions or health history. These avoidable errors are among the leading causes of death in the U.S. The VitalKey offers you the single best form of protection against these dangerous mistakes by enabling you and your doctors to always have your medical information (and that of your family if you choose) at your fingertips.
How do my medical records get onto the VitalKey?
Getting your records onto the VitalKey is easy. We do it for you. When you order your VitalKey, we will call you to arrange your telephone medical interview with your Medical Specialist. This conversation begins our process of gathering your vital information. Once we have completed this call and received your medical records, we will digitally scan your records, organize them on your VitalKey, and mail it to you along with a small instruction card for your key chain and VitalKey stickers for your car, house, cell phone and driver’s license.
How much information can be stored on the VitalKey?
VitalKeys have enough storage capacity for you to store medical information on your whole family. When you pick your subscription plan, you will have the chance to determine whose records you want on your VitalKey.
How do I keep my records up-to-date?
We update your VitalKey for you. We welcome your help, but it’s not required. If any information you provided us changes (insurance information, emergency contacts, your living will, etc) let us know. Call us, fax us, mail us, or even use this website to update this information. If you forget - don’t worry. Your Medical Specialist will call you every few months to check for updates.
When you have a medical visit that produces new information for your VitalKey (i.e. an annual physical, change of medications, lab work, etc.) you can ask that your doctor fax the notes from the visit to VitalKey on your behalf. Again, if you forget, we’ll take care of it for you.
When we receive updates from your doctor, we review them and program them to be loaded on your VitalKey – automatically - the next time you start it from an internet-connected computer. Neither you nor your doctor needs any training to use or update your VitalKey.
How will doctors access my medical information?
99% of all doctors’ offices and medical facilities have at least one computer onsite. To access your medical information, doctors simply plug your VitalKey into the USB port on their computers and view your records using a web browser like Microsoft Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Internet access is NOT required for your doctors to access your records on the VitalKey.
Can I withhold certain information from the VitalKey?
Yes. The contents of the VitalKey were designed by physicians to provide other doctors with the critical information that they would need to treat you. This is your medical information, and you control it. You may designate what does and does not go onto your VitalKey.
What if I lose or damage my VitalKey?
Our goal is to balance the doctor’s need to access your medical information in an emergency with the need to protect the information on your VitalKey. No passwords or other barriers will stand in the way of a doctor trying to treat you. If there is information that you don’t want on your VitalKey, we will withhold it.
We treat a lost VitalKey like a lost credit card. If you lose your VitalKey, notify us either by phone or online. If anyone attempts to access the information on your lost VitalKey from an Internet-connected computer, your VitalKey will be automatically erased before your information can be viewed.
The important thing to remember is that your information is in your control. We maintain a back-up copy of your information, so your information is never truly lost.
Does a doctor have to have Internet access to view my records on the VitalKey?
No.
Can I store the medical records of other family members on my VitalKey?
Yes. People commonly store medical information for every member of their immediate family and even elderly family members on a single VitalKey.
Can I get a second VitalKey for my spouse or nanny?
Yes. At any time, you may order duplicate VitalKeys for a one-time investment of $49.00.
How will an emergency medical professional know that I am carrying my medical records if I am unable to speak?
With your VitalKey, you will receive a set of VitalKey emblem stickers that we suggest you affix to the rear window of your vehicle(s), a visible window near the entrance of your home, your driver’s license or photo ID, and your cell phone. The VitalKey emblem will alert emergency personnel (fire, EMS, police, etc.) to the fact that you are carrying your medical information.
I am perfectly healthy. Do I need a VitalKey?
Yes. In the event of an emergency, a doctor’s knowledge that you are healthy can be as important as knowledge of certain medical conditions. ALL information on your current health status is critical - from your immunizations to your most recent lab tests... even if it indicates that you are in good health. Access to this information on the VitalKey reduces the amount of background investigation that doctors need to perform before taking action on your current health issue.
You should also consider that if your health should suddenly change, the VitalKey will serve as a baseline to allow doctors to see where exactly changes have occurred and how dramatic those changes in your health are.
What information is stored on my VitalKey?
On your VitalKey, doctors will find information they can trust in a format they can access quickly and without any prior training.
- Allergies
- Medical conditions
- Medications
- Immunizations
- Medical imaging reports
- Lab reports
- Past medical procedures
- Emergency contacts
- Family medical history
- Insurance information
- Medical directives
- And much more...
Learn more about the information on your VitalKey.
Why Is VitalKey a Subscription Service?
Your VitalKey is a living record of your health. To be useful to you and any doctor who treats you, it must be maintained. Your VitalKey Medical Specialist does this for you.
They interview you by phone after you order your VitalKey. They contact your doctor’s for you to get copies of your records. And they assemble your records in digital form on your VitalKey.
They continue to do this for you as your medical information changes over time. And to be sure that no updates to your VitalKey have been overlooked, they will call you every few months to check.
Your work stops once you’ve ordered your VitalKey. We take over for you after that.
Why can’t I build my own portable health record?
If you have the time and technical capabilities to put store information in an easily navigated, digital format using a portable medium like a flash drive, this is a good question.
If you do this yourself, what you have is a “Medical Diary.” This is a term used by physicians and others to describe a patient’s own account of his or her health history. There is an important distinction between your medical diary and your medical records.
Doctors trust medical records - the notes and documentation of other doctors. Doctors can’t take the risk of trusting most of what is contained in a medical diary.
In addition to being wonderfully convenient to you, this is why we compile and maintain the information on your VitalKey for you using digital copies of your actual medical records. Your VitalKey has to contain information that your doctors can trust to act on in an emergency. Otherwise, what’s the point of having it?
Will my VitalKey work on a Mac?
The answer to this questions is yes and no. The VitalKey is designed to run on all operating systems. By plugging your VitalKey into any USB drive you, or a medical professional, will have access to view all the content of your VitalKey. That said, in order for updates to be downloaded to your key it needs to be plugged into a computer running Windows. If your key is plugged into a computer running any other system you will not be able to update the key.
If you are a Mac user, here are a few recommendations on how to get updates onto your VitaKey:
- If you have parallels or boot camp running windows on your computer, you will be able to launch and update your VitalKey through those progrmas.
- Most offices use Windows based machines. So, you can update you VitalKey at work.
- Maybe you have friends and family who use Windows machines. If available, you could use their computer (you'll also get to show off your cool VitalKey).
- Try your local library. They always have computers.
- Next time you are at the physician, have them plug your VitalKey in for you and update it.
