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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is HiGS?
- As a HiGS
subscriber, how does the information that I gather directly benefit me?
- Can I share my HiGS
health information with my doctor(s)?
- Can I be selective about the information
that I share with my doctors or do I have to show them everything I have collected?
- How often can I access my
HiGS health information?
- Can I access my
HiGS health information from outside of my home?
- How much does HiGS
cost?
- Does each person need his or her
own separate subscription or can family members share their subscriptions?
- Should I be worried about the privacy and
security of my HiGS health information since I have
to go on the Internet to get to it?
- Do I need to have any special computer
software to be able to use HiGS?
- Can I diagnose any health problems that
I might have through the information I gather from using HiGS?
- How can I use HiGS
when I don’t want to share it with anyone?
Q. What is HiGS?
A. HiGS
are the initials for our Health Information GatheringSystem.
It is an e-health assessment tool designed to enable individuals to become better
informed about themselves, their health, and their health risks, and then be able
to share this information with healthcare professionals, when they choose, and
when needed.
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Q. As a HiGS subscriber, how does the
information that I gather directly benefit me?
A. Most people don't know what
they need to know about health and medical matters and that is a big benefit of
HiGS; it helps fill that need. Your benefit comes from having a better understanding
of your health condition as you answer the questions in the histories, health assessments
and body systems sections and collect the information about yourself. Having this
knowledge puts you in more control over your health and healthcare by helping you
to:
- Develop an awareness through establishing your normal health baselines (reference
points) leading to better health prevention and early detection of potential underlying
health issues
- Discover problems early so you can make changes or get appropriate health attention
to keep problems simple rather than wait until they become big and more complex
- Communicate your general health profile more effectively and more quickly with your
doctor so you can spend more time on what can make you feel better
- Increase the likelihood of a timely diagnosis leading to more effective and efficient
care
- Have other family members knowledgeable about your health when you want them to
be, so they can help you in a times of crisis or need
- Create important family histories that can be handed down through your family to
other generations
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Q. Can I share my HiGS health information with my
doctor(s)?
A. Yes. All or any portion of your
HiGS information can be shared with doctors through the reporting tool called the
Personal Health History (PHH).
This is accomplished easily by printing out the selected information you place into
your PHH and taking it with you to your doctor. There are also other easy ways
to electronically send your selected information to your healthcare professionals
when you think having that information prior to your visit is helpful for your care.
Automatically, HiGS makes your PHH results for each area into PDF format that enables
you to easily electronically send via email or FAX your PHH items to your physician
or any loved one when you want them to have your information. Keep in mind, when
you chose this method it is not encrypted.
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Q. Can I be selective about the
information that I share with my doctors or do I have to show them everything I
have collected?
A. Our system was specifically designed
to give you the ability to select only the histories, assessments, and body systems
that you want your doctors to see based on the purpose of your office visits and
your desire to share certain information.
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Q. How often can I access my HiGS health information?
A. Your HiGS information is available
to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week wherever there is Internet access. Therefore,
you are able to access your information any time of the day and as many times a
day as you choose as long as your subscription period is current. HiGS subscriptions
are available for an entire year or for 3 months at a time whichever you prefer.
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Q. Can I access my HiGS health information from outside
of my home?
A. Yes, you can access your information
anywhere there is a computer with an Internet connection. This gives you the freedom
to retrieve your information upon demand, anywhere in the world, for any reason.
This is important and a huge benefit should you want or need to access your information
while traveling anywhere in the world.
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Q. How much does HiGS cost?
A. The amount for a one year’s
subscription to HiGS is only $59.95. A three month’s subscription can be purchased
for $29.95 each. We have included this option because occasionally some people like
to try things out first before paying for an entire year or they prefer purchasing
things three months at a time. An annual subscription is the most common method.
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Q. Does each person need
his or her own separate subscription or can family members share their subscriptions?
A. Sharing contaminates information
making it inaccurate and no longer meaningful. The information stored in the PHH
is only for one individual, with that person’s name on it. Remember, each
family member has his or her own unique health issues, which requires having a separate
subscription, ensuring privacy and security of each family member’s information.
Subscriptions are gender specific which means females see certain questions only
relevant for females and the same is true for male-based questions.
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Q. Should I be worried about the
privacy and security of my
HiGS health information since I have to go on the Internet to get to it?
A. Your privacy is one of our highest
priorities. We want you to feel as secure as possible so we do diligence with encryption
and protective devices and methods. Your HiGS information is secured and protected
within standardized security mechanisms. On HiGS, your information is internally
structured on two separate components that can only be brought together with very
specific login information and a password known only to you. In other words, your
personal identifying information (such as name, age, birth date, gender, zip code,
and so on) is in one place and your gathered histories, assessments, and body systems
information is in another area. These two components only come together when you
make them do so during the login process. In this way your information becomes visible,
and only to you. See our privacy statement.
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Q. Do I need to have any special
computer software to be able to use HiGS?
A. No, HiGS does not require any special
software to be loaded onto your computer. You will only need an Internet connection
to a web-browser. Our system has been designed and tested for these browsers: Microsoft
Internet Explorer 5.5 and above, and Netscape Navigator 7.0 and above, Mozilla 1.4
and above, and FireFox 1.0 and above. Because HiGS is designed to use industry-standard
HTML, most parts should function on other browsers without difficulty.
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Q. Can I diagnose any health problems
that I might have through the information I gather from using HiGS?
A. No, because diagnosing a disease
or condition takes years of medical training and also has many factors to it. Only
physicians and other trained and licensed practitioners diagnose diseases and conditions.
Proper diagnosing requires many steps. Most medical practitioners say that one of
the first things they learn in medical school is that 50% of every diagnosis is
made through observation. A trained eye can often spot conditions or suspicions
about conditions even before hearing patients try to explain to the best of their
ability, how they feel and what they are experiencing. The HiGS information you
collect in your PHH using HiGS histories, assessments, and body systems gives the
physician invaluable, easy to identify historical information. Your collected PHH,
plus the knowledge and trained eye of the physician, increases the likelihood of
his or her making a diagnosis more efficiently, accurately, and cost effectively. You can however, glean a lot of knowledge from your histories about your risk for disease and trouble to aid self-care and your healthcare. Since histories are shown to be more important than a physical exam in a doctor office, they are a most important part of identifying risk, diagnosing, and preventing disease.
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Q. How can I use
HiGS when I don’t want
to share it with anyone?
A. As a health seeker you want to
know about basic health matters and what you can do about them to make good changes
to stay healthy and to feel better when ill. HiGS helps bridge the gap, giving you
a place to discover yourself, your habits and patterns, and how you can improve
the ways you do things to preserve your health. Your HiGS information will be all
about you. You will gather it, develop it over time, refer to it when you need it,
and discover yourself and how you do things that can affect your health and how
you feel now and in the future. Your PHH is your information so only you control
how and when you share it.
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