Frequently Asked Questions. Have a question? Look below to find some answers.
What is PassportMD?
- 1. What is PassportMD?
- 2. Why is this important?
- 3. What is Independent Family Wellness?
- 4. How does PassportMD work?
- 5. What is the Interactive Health Bio?
- 6. What is MyRemindeRx?
- 7. What is meant by Premium Content?
- 8. What is the Doctor Connector?
- 9. What is the Safety Deposit Box?
- 10. What are the healthcare calculators?
- 11. What is meant by "Health and Wellness Savings"?
- 12. What types of medical records are important?
- 13. Can PassportMD store images of MRI’s, CT Scans, X-Rays, etc.?
- 14. What about insurance information?
- 15. How do I get records from my doctor?
- 16. What if my doctor says he faxed back the records but I don’t see them in my PHR (Personal Health Record)?
- 17. Can I take these records with me?
- 18. What if my doctor won't release my notes?
Our Costs
- 19. How much does PassportMD cost?
- 20. Are there any additional charges?
- 21. Are there any additional charges when using PassportMD to retrieve my records?
- 22. What is your cancellation policy?
Privacy and Security
- 23. Will my records be safe with PassportMD?
- 24. Who will have access to my records? Can my doctor see them?
- 25. What happens if I forget my username or password?
Support and Help
Reasons to Sign Up
1. What is PassportMD?
PassportMD is a web based consumer directed healthcare company recognizing your need to have fast, convenient access to tools that can help you manage your healthcare and your family’s healthcare. Our promise to you is "Independent family wellness". Through the use of PassportMD's proprietary software and tools, you can easily manage your family's own private online interactive Personal Health Record (PHR) called an Interactive Health Bio, access trusted content in the form of online access to the monthly versions Harvard Health Letter and the Harvard Mental Health Letter, create customized and personalized phone call medication reminders to make sure loved ones are taking their medication on time, communicate online with doctors via encrypted HIPAA compliant email and request your medical records without leaving home using our "Doctors Notes On Demand” services, and store important life records such as living wills and power of attorney documents in your family's own “virtual safety deposit box". And, in addition to all of this, you can use PassportMD to save money off of prescriptions using PassportMDRx card recognized at over 56, 000 pharmacies nationwide or use PassportMD to save significant amounts when enrolling in Lifelock Identity theft program. All in all, PassportMD will save you a significant amount of money and time, and yet still help you maintain your family’s health and wellness.
This service is for anyone who wants to better manage and organize their family’s healthcare. If you are starved for time, cannot afford to wait on hold with a doctor’s office, do not have time to accompany parents in the doctors waiting room, yet still need to keep track of your own and loved ones medical visits, issues, notes and medications, then PassportMD is perfect for you.
PassportMD is great to better manage the healthcare of: individuals of any age or for children that travel to summer camps, or elderly parents that live on their own, and even for keeping information about your pets, their shots, vaccinations and registrations.
2. Why is this important?
Trusted information can be a challenge online, just try searching a disease on Google, what you can trust and what you can’t is mind boggling. Rest assured, we have sorted this out for you and we deliver only trusted content from trusted sources.
And, what about your own personal medical history? Often your health information is scattered among many different providers, doctors' offices, and hospitals. Using PassportMD will allow you to collect and manage all of your health information from many different sources without leaving home. Simple, secure access to all of your health records can make all the difference in times of an emergency and reduces the chances of becoming a medical mistake statistic. Portable medical records are a reality today.
This service is for anyone, regardless of age, who has visited a doctor, has allergies, or takes prescription medicines. In times of a medical crisis or if you are seeking a consultation (or second opinion), the availability of accurate health records can make the difference between the right and wrong treatment. If you are a parent preparing a child for summer camp, or if you have elderly parents that live alone, or, even if you are organizing your pet’s health and shot history, then use PassportMD to create a Personal Health Record (PHR), to request your dependent's doctors notes, to create medication reminders, and to access trusted health information.
In times of natural disasters, such as during hurricanes, storms, fires or floods, your personal records, legal documents and property photos and files, may be lost or difficult to present to your insurance company for a claim. PassportMD's software enables you to upload and store all of your valuable information in a "virtual safety deposit box". Your records can be accessed from anywhere and make insurance claims processing faster and simpler.
3. What is Independent Family Wellness?
Independent family wellness is a concept that we, at PassportMD, have created. We believe Independent Family wellness is at the core of every family’s needs. Specifically, Independent Family wellness means the ability for a family to stay well through all cycles of life, regardless of age, and independent of any insurance company and any particular healthcare facility or provider. The world is changing and healthcare consumers are now able to take responsibility for their care. We want to give the family head of household the tools to keep the family healthy, intact, and well through all cycles of life. Our tools are specific in purpose and should save you time, money, and even still create a better healthier family by managing critical healthcare information.
4. How does PassportMD work?
We have created an online service that gives you access to a host of healthcare tools that are simple and easy to use. You simply access these tools online through your own password protected portal. The tools , once accessed, by clicking on the respective icon, allows you to set up, request, and access your own as well as your dependent's medical records, as well as upload and store legal documents such as living wills and power of attorneys, create medication reminders, create a personalized and customized health bio for each family member, communicate with doctors via secure, encrypted HIPAA compliant email, access trusted health information from trusted sources on the web as well as Harvard Medical School publications, and lastly PassportMD may save you money with a prescription discount card accepted at 56,000 pharmacies nationwide.
Premium Plan - Single User - cost $49.95/year or $4.95 monthly- This plan includes a 30 day free trial, no risk, no obligations and for just pennies per day, this is a paid subscription plan that includes all the standard plan features, but also includes all of our premium services for up to six family members. The premium services include: "Doctors Notes on Demand" (the ability to request records online from your doctor), emailing your doctor, creating and sending phone medication reminders via MyRemindeRx, and accessing online monthly versions of the Harvard Health Letter and Harvard Mental Health Letter.
This premium plan does not include the cost of the PHR Concierge, additional reminder calls through MyRemindeRx, or product purchases through storefront.
5. What is the Interactive Health Bio?
PassportMD's Interactive Health Bio tm is like a "Personal health record on steroids". It is more than just information listing and archiving. It is PassportMD's unique approach to creating intelligence associated with each personal health record for each family member. It will provide the head of household with the information she needs to understand every disease or medication that each family member has or is taking. It will help her with correct spelling and intelligent searches on the web delivering only trusted information back to her rather than "noisy" commercial websites.
6. What is MyRemindeRx?
MyRemindeRx is a very novel application created by PassportMD. It is meant to be used to create reminders for your family that can be delivered wherever and whenever needed. These reminders are created in a few short simple steps and then sent to a cell phone or any phone. The reminders may be used to remind your family members about important events, medications or even doctor appointments. The reminders are personalized and created with your own voice if you choose.
7. What is meant by Premium Content?
Have you ever tried searching for a medical condition or disease on Google? If you have, then you know you get thousands of results, most of the results, you cannot trust or do not know where they are coming from. Many are from websites trying to sell you something. Well, at PassportMD, we believe premium content is just that..premium. So we deliver only the most trusted content to our members. For example, as a premium member you will have access to Harvard Medical School monthly publication's Harvard Health Letter and Harvard Mental Health Letter. Also, all searches through PassportMD will return only information from the most credible medical authorities.
8. What is the Doctor Connector?
Our Doctor Connector service is just that…a better way to connect with your doctor so you no longer have to wait on hold with their office, travel unnecessarily to pick up records at their office or even spend hours in their waiting room. PassportMD’s Doctor Connector will help you avoid these unnecessary time and effort expenditures by offering you and your doctor free access to HIPAA compliant secure encrypted email. Why is this important? Doctors prefer email communications from their patients. However if you email them today, your email provider, such as aol, hotmail, gmail, outlook,etc is not HIPAA compliant nor is it encrypted , so your physician and even their front office personnel is not permitted to answer back. We have changed this.
Additionally with doctor connector we provide you with our proprietary Doctors Notes on Demand service so that you can request your family member’s records via our site using the Internet and receive these records back automatically, sorted, saved and stored securely by doctor and date. It’s simple just try it.
9. What is the Safety Deposit Box?
PassportMD’s virtual safety deposit box is just that…a safety deposit box for you to upload, store, save important documents such as living wills and power of attorney, for example. Now, you can securely access or print off these documents whenever you may need them, and from wherever you are. If, someone in the family is hospitalized, while you are away from them, you should be able to get these records to the appropriate people, the hospital, etc..we make this easy.
10. What are the healthcare calculators?
We have created unique calculators to help you manage your health and your finances. For instance, our Health Savings Account Intelligizer tm will help you decide what insurance plan: traditional, indemnity, managed care or a new Health savings account will save you money or not. This can be confusing and our calculator simplifies this for you. Other calculators we offer will help you with quitting smoking or losing weight.
11. What is meant by "Health and Wellness Savings"?
PassportMD may save you money for purchases that have to do with your "health and wellness." It is that simple. We provide a discount pharmacy card accepted at over 56,000 pharmacies nationwide for prescription discounts. You create your own card or one for every family member using PassportMD at PassportMDRxcard.com. Additionally, our storefront may save you money on unique healthcare products and services. However, your greatest savings will be in signing up for a PassportMD premium subscription plan, as we will provide you with well over $100 of value for a fraction of the price.
12. What types of medical records are important?
Physicians and medical personnel are most interested in your medical history, allergies, and medications you may be taking. Records that are extremely helpful are your EKGs, labs, and x-ray reports. In addition, health officials recommend you have access to any special instructions, living wills, donor information, or power of attorney notices. All of these records are easy to create, store securely, and are always accessible at PassportMD.
13. Can PassportMD store images of MRI’s, CT Scans, X-Rays, etc.?
Yes, PassportMD may contain any digital image of any medical study or image that you have had performed. You can upload the digital file/image from your computer or from the storage device that contains it or you may give your physician permission to upload it into your profile if he has the digital image. Very large images may exceed some memory storage allotments and be subject to additional charges.
14. What about insurance information?
Your Profile Builder reminds you to add your health insurance provider and its phone number even though these are optional fields. You may also add emergency contact information to your Contact Profile, or any information you feel is important in creating a complete personalized health and medical record.
15. How do I get records from my doctor?
Using our “Doctors Notes on Demand” service is easy. From within your profile, you will click on the icon entitled “Doctor Connector”. After completing your doctor’s contact Information, which includes your doctor’s name, phone, and fax number, you simply hit the “Get My Medical Records” key, and PassportMD goes to work for you. It’s that easy.
16. What if my doctor says he faxed back the records but I don’t see them in my PHR (Personal Health Record)?
First double check your PassportMD profile, look under the right hand column of your PassportMD dashboard page. Click on “Records From My Doctors” and you should see your doctor's name and the time and date you sent your request. If it says “Unanswered Request” next to the time and date you sent the request, then we have no record of receiving his fax back. If your doctor has sent back your records, you will see a “View” and “Save” option next to those records, and you may therefore either “view” your records or “save” them to your computer.
If your doctor has not sent back your records, we recommend that you: “Resend Request” for your records at least three times, if he does not respond, you should call your doctor and ask him to fax back your records according to your fax request.
If your doctor says that his office already faxed backed your records, but they do not show up in your profile, then we recommend calling your doctor. Inform your doctor that as your fax instructed, he must use the cover sheet provided to him, for the fax to automatically get inserted into your profile. If he did not do this, his fax will not work. If your doctor, no longer has the fax request with the fax cover sheet, tell him you will resend. Hit “Resend Request” and tell your doctor to follow the instructions on the fax and include the fax cover sheet. This is not an unusual protocol for physicians to follow so this should come as no surprise to them.
17. Can I take these records with me?
Yes. Today portable medical records are a reality. In addition to accessing your records from any computer connected to the Internet, you also have the option, at no additional charge, of printing your records or saving the information to your own computer or to your own USB or CD-ROM. PassportMD also offers portable medical record solutions such as credit-card sized medical CD-ROM cards or USB medical key chains for those customers who want to keep their information with them at all times.
18. What if my doctor won't release my notes?
Your physician is obligated to release your notes, but sometimes it is not his first priority or he may be waiting for payment from you for this service. However, most physicians respond in a timely fashion. PassportMD makes it easy to follow up with your doctor to see if he has responded to your requests. If, in the unlikely event your doctor has not responded to multiple requests via PassportMD, then we would suggest that you call his office to expedite his response.
19. How much does PassportMD cost?
Premium Plan – Includes up to six family members - cost $49.95/year or $4.95 monthly- This plan includes a 30 day free trial, no risk, no obligations and for just pennies per day, this is a paid subscription plan that includes all the standard plan features, but also includes all of our premium services for up to six family members. The premium services include: “Doctors Notes on Demand” (the ability to request records online from your doctor), emailing your doctor, creating and sending phone medication reminders via MyRemindeRx, and accessing online monthly versions of the Harvard Health Letter and Harvard Mental Health Letter.
20. Are there any additional charges when using PassportMD to retrieve my records?
Yes, although your medical records belong to you, doctors or hospitals must make copies for you anytime you make an authorized request. The law does allow for doctors or hospitals to charge you a reasonable fee to cover the cost of copying your records. Not all doctors or hospitals charge this fee, but if they do, it is typically costs $5-$25.00, but usually no more than $50, regardless of the number of pages. This is not a fee paid to PassportMD and it is beyond our control. And this is regardless of whether or not you use PHR Concierge or PassportMD's Doctors Notes on Demand. Also, your doctor or hospital must receive your prior approval before charging you any fee to release your records.
This premium plan does not include the cost of the PHR Concierge, additional reminder calls through MyRemindeRx, or product purchases through storefront.
Also, PassportMD sells various optional portable medical record storage devices that you may choose to buy. For instance, if you want a personalized portable medical record to carry with you in a credit-card sized CD-ROM for your wallet or a USB storage device that attaches to your medical key chain, then you would buy these in our online store. However, this is completely optional.
PassportMD includes 31 reminder calls per month of our MyRemindeRx service included with our premium plans. However, if a user goes over 31 calls per month, these calls will be billed at an additional $.10 per call.
There are no hidden charges or costs with PassportMD. Everything is spelled out and we have tried to make everything as clear as possible so you have no questions. For instance, PassportMD does not include the cost of your prescriptions from the pharmacy. PassportMD does not charge to create your own personalized pharmacy discount card that is recognized at over 56,000 pharmacies nationwide.
21. Is my family covered under my PassportMD account?
You are entitled to enroll up to six family members including yourself when using your PassportMD.
22. What is your cancellation policy?
PassportMD's cancellation policy is that any plan may be cancelled at any time, for any reason, and at no charge with no penalty. Cancellations received for customers on the annual plan will receive a pro rata refund for the unused portion of your annual subscription. In other words if you cancel your subscription after six months of enrollment, you will be refunded for 6 unused months, or half of your subscription costs would be refunded to you. For cancellations received for customers on the monthly plan, they will be responsible for the month of cancellation and billing will stop for any subsequent months. All cancellations must be received in writing to the address below or via email to cancel@PassportMD. You may not cancel your account by phone. There will be no refunds for MyRemindeRx fees or for any purchases made through the PassportMD storefront, and all sales are final for all purchases made through the PassportMD storefront.
To protect your identity, all cancellations must be sent in writing with original signature to:
PassportMD, Inc.
230 G. Bush Blvd
Delray Beach, Fl. 33444
23. Will my records be safe with PassportMD?
Yes. The only person authorized to access the information in your account is you. The PassportMD system and process to retrieve doctors' records is done using HIPAA-compliant forms. We use a minimum of 256 bit encryption (*when supported by your browser), and all of your information is password protected. Additionally, all information is kept in a highly secure US-based facility, guarded 24 hours a day by armed guards, security sensors, cameras, and multiple levels of security measures.
24. Who will have access to my records? Can my doctor see them?
No one can see your records without your approval.
25. What happens if I forget my username or password?
PassportMD requires that you complete security questions, which enable us to validate your account status. We use these questions, the answers you provide, and your personal email to reauthorize use of your PassportMD account.
26. How do I contact PassportMD?
We offer customer service 7 days a week 24 hours a day. You can call our toll free number, 1-888-902-0808 or email us.
27. Does PassportMD allow advertising on this site?
No, PassportMD does not place any advertising on our site. PassportMD.com may provide links to third-party web sites. PassportMD.com also may select certain sites as priority responses to search terms you enter. PassportMD.com does not recommend and does not endorse the content on any third-party websites. PassportMD.com is not responsible for the content of linked third-party sites, sites framed within the PassportMD.com Site, third-party sites provided as search results, or third-party advertisements, and does not make any representations regarding their content or accuracy. Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such sites.
28. Why should I buy PassportMD?
1. Because PassportMD is about value, time and safety. We provide you with significant value by offering well over $150 per year of services at a fraction of the price. We provide you with the ability to save you time by easily managing your healthcare or your family’s healthcare through web based tools that will save you time and effort. Lastly, PassportMD is about safety as PassportMD greatly reduces the likelihood of a medical mistake occurring; reduce the chances of receiving the wrong medications, the wrong treatment, or the wrong diagnosis.
2. It is a safe, secure, protected, award winning service. It provides fast, convenient unique tools that can help you manage your healthcare and your family’s healthcare.
3. It keeps your medical records safe in the event of natural disasters, hurricanes, fires, and floods.
4. It is easy to take your portable medical records to specialists for second opinions regarding your care.
5. It maintains your records even if you move or change doctors, you will always have your portable medical records current and available.
6. It is great way to help your loved ones, children or parents; in making sure that they keep their medical records up to date, reducing their chances of becoming a medical mistake.
7. Portable medical records make traveling or leaving home safer, since your medical history is always available when you need it.
8. Being responsible for your family’s health is not easy. PassportMD helps you by printing off or saving any of your healthcare information to your computer as often as you like at no additional charge. You are the best person to be your health manager.
9. Use our Virtual Safety Deposit Box to store other important documents besides your personal medical records such as living will, and durable power of attorney.
10. Access trusted content in the form of online access to the monthly versions of Harvard Health Letter and the Harvard Mental Health Letter.
11. Create personalized phone call medication reminders to make sure loved ones are taking their medication on time with our MyRemindeRx service.
12. Communicate online with your doctors about appointments or questions via our encrypted HIPAA compliant e-mail service.
13. Healthcare savings with our PassportMDRx card. All in all, PassportMD will save you a significant amount of money and time, and yet still help you maintain your family’s health and wellness.
29. Is a PassportMD subscription tax deductible?
While we cannot provide you with specific tax advice, PassportMD Premium Plan subscriptions may qualify as a tax deductible medical expense. Publication 502, issued by the IRS, suggests that a taxpayer may include in the medical expense deduction calculation amounts paid to a medical information plan that keeps medical information in a computer data bank and retrieves and furnishes the information upon request to an attending physician. Taxpayers should consult with a tax professional to determine their eligibility for deducting any item qualifying as a medical expense.
Powerful tools, created by a doctor, to manage your family's wellness with ease