England, United Kingdom: Georg Szalai

Health experience related to: type 1 diabetes; asthma

Sharing patient notes across care settings drives better medication compliance and reinforces healthy behaviours in people with chronic or co-morbid conditions.

I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 20 years ago in Austria, where I am originally from.

At the hospital where I go for quarterly check-ups, I usually see the same doctor, who has a team of other specialists around him. They all look at my file, which is both on the computer and in hard copy, and they always check both. Usually the doctor then refers me to see a specialist to discuss any issues related to the insulin pump I use. There is clearly a team effort and I have met a lot of the regular physicians who can help me. Every now and then, there is a new doctor who joins whom I haven't met before, but everyone seems to have access to all the information about me on the computer and in paper form.

The pharmacy where I get my medications is very progressive in the sense that they seem to be the kind of place where you could go to if you have a health issue but can't get to a doctor. They advertise a lot of useful things there. For example, they provide flu shots, so if I don't feel like waiting at the general practitioner's office I could walk in and get my shot there. There are also programmes for people who want to stop smoking.

I am very pleased that the pharmacy has all the information about my diabetes and asthma. When I first went there, they asked me to fill out 4 pages with details about my medical history, which was a bit annoying at the time, but now I'm glad I did it, because I feel that they know what's going on with me. Sometimes when I order a certain medication and go to pick it up, they remind me, "Are you ok on your asthma sprays? It looks like you haven't picked up anything in months." At the previous pharmacy where I used to go, I would just pick up my order and that was the end of it.

I like the fact that both my health care providers and the pharmacists track my medical history and know what is happening to me at any given time. I know some people don't want their medical history shared across providers, but I personally think it's great. Even though I only see the doctors once every few months, they can very quickly track what problems I face. That's the thing that I like the most, that I don't have to explain from scratch every time.

As I'm getting older I've been thinking more about prevention. I'm very good at my work when it comes to planning and anticipating things, but I'm not very good at that when it comes to my health. I have a million other things to do and maybe I really don't want to think about prevention. So it would be great if the pharmacists and doctors would nudge me more often to think and do something about it.

I know it's my responsibility too to look for those prevention opportunities, but if it came from the authority figures when I have a direct encounter with them, I feel like I would be more likely to pay attention.