Patient's engagement and big data management made easier through "FollowMyHealth.com"

North Shore-LIJ Health System patients will soon have 24/7 access to their health information online. For the past week, a new, secure web-based patient portal has been available to patients of Plainview and Forest Hills hospitals. The system will be expanded to all North Shore-LIJ patients by this July.

By simply creating an account and logging on to FollowMyHealth.com, patients will be able to review their medical information and other key data from their hospitalization or outpatient visit. Going forward, new features will be added that will enable patients to request appointments and view additional medical information online.

“The new portal is a major step forward in North Shore-LIJ’s efforts to better engage patients in managing their health and wellness,” said John Bosco, the health system’s chief information officer. “While access to FollowMyHealth.com will be limited at first, we anticipate the portal to be fully functional by mid-summer.”

Later this spring, email invitations containing a registration link for Follow My Health will be sent to Plainview and Forest Hill patients who were treated at those facilities on or after March 1.  On May 1, the portal will be made accessible to patients being treated by the majority of physicians within the North Shore-LIJ Medical Group, and by July 1, the portal will be available to patients of all other North Shore-LIJ inpatient facilities throughout Long Island and New York City. A mobile app version of Follow My Health also will be available for users of Apple and Android devices.

By mid-2014, an Electronic Health Records System will already have been implemented in all North Shore-LIJ hospitals and emergency departments, as well as a majority of its approximately 400 outpatient physician practices. FollowMyHealth.com will link patients directly to their information contained within the EHR.