| home | members | news | our staff | faq | sign up | resources | contact | EMERGENCY |
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does EMR stand for?
2. Why would I want to make some of my medical information accessible to certain other parties?
3. How is my information delivered in an emergency situation?
4. How do I know the information I'm sending to MIICOE is secure?
5. How does MIICOE keep my information secure in the database?
6. I want to join, but I don't have the time to enter all of this information What do I do?
EMR stands for Electronic Medical Record. (Electronic means the information is stored as computer data.) This record can contain such information as:
- Personal History
- List of Physicians
- Organ Donor Status
- Current Medication
- Medical Power of Attorney
- Living Will Information
- Allergies to Medication
- Emergency Contact List
- Medical & Surgical History
Top of Page
Why would I want to make some of my medical information accessible to certain other parties?
During an emergency situation, certain information stored in your EMR may save your life, if accessed quickly enough. If you are unconcious or unable to communicate, MIICOE provides a means of providing this information to emergency care providers immediately, via your MIICOE membership card. Only the information required for emergency care is provided in this type of situation, and only if the information on your MIICOE membership card is properly provided. Emergency Care Providers and First Responders will tell you that lives are lost every day in emergencies because accurate information wasn't readily available.
Top of Page
How is my information delivered in an emergency situation?
In case of an emergency in which you are unable to communicate for yourself, anyone providing care for you can request your emergency medical information with your MIICOE card in one of two ways: Your MIICOE card is imprinted with a toll-free emergency phone number, a link to the MIICOE EMERGENCY website, your MIICOE ID number and your name. If a phone call is made, a MIICOE operator will ask for your ID number and name. If the information is provided correctly, the operator will provide that person with only the information necessary for emergency care. If the care provider is near a computer, as in an Emergency Room, that person may go directly to the MIICOE EMERGENCY website and enter your ID number and name directly, and he or she will immediately be provided with a screen that, provides only the information necessary for emergency care. (This is the same screen a MIICOE operator uses!) The information is NOT provided without an EXACT match for your MIICOE ID and your name as it is printed on your card. You can try a sample session yourself by clicking on the EMERGENCY link on the main menu, and using Member ID: AA1001 and name: MIICOE TEST. NOTE: YOUR MIICOE PASSWORD IS NOT USED FOR THIS PURPOSE AND SHOULD NEVER BE GIVEN OUT!
Top of Page
How do I know the information I'm sending to MIICOE is secure?
When you access areas of the website that require you to input information, you'll see a "padlock" icon appear on the bottom of your browser. This indicates that you've accessed the page through a SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Once this connection is made, information passed betwen the server and your browser is encrypted, so it can't be read by other parties attempting to "tap" the connection. The SSL is certified by RapidSSL, a trusted authority.
Top of Page
How does MIICOE keep my information secure in the database?
First, the database isn't available anywhere other than through the MIICOE website. While it's redundantly backed up, it isn't available on desktop machines, laptops, or portable media such as CDs or DVDs, but only on a security-enabled server on the Internet.
Second, access to updating your records is secured by matching your member ID to your password, which is encrypted in the database. Because we use Unix-style encryption, not even the MIICOE administrators can decrypt (translate) your password. The encrpytion routine is "known" only to the MIICOE server, and the only way to authenticate a user is by applying the same encryption routine to a given string and comparing it to the encrypted password. If you think of all the possible 6 to 12 character combinations available, using alphabetical (upper and lower case) and numeric characters, you'll begin to see how difficult it would be to match a password in the database, let alone match the password to the correct Member ID.
Third, when your information is retrieved in an emergency situation, no information of any value to identity thieves, etc. is provided. Only the information critical to your immediate care is made available, and only after verifying that the requesting entity has provided both the correct Member ID and full name. Even then, we record the IP address and/or host of the requestor in case anything suspicious should occur. You can try a sample session yourself by clicking on the EMERGENCY link on the main menu, and using Member ID: AA1001 and name: MIICOE TEST.
Top of Page
I want to join, but I don't have the time to enter all of this information. What do I do?
Signing up takes an average of 3 to 12 minutes. Although you CAN start to enter your medical records right away, you don't have to do this immediately on signing up. Our members' area breaks the whole process of entering your records down into simple steps for you, and even keeps track of what you've entered and what's still pending. Since you can enter and leave the members' area at any time with your ID and password, it's easy to enter your records at your leisure. So, for just a few minutes of your time, you can start helping to ensure proper care for you and your family today.
Top of Page