Your Kids' Health Records at your Fingertips with HealthHub

Advertorial

If you are a parent like I am, you should be largely familiar with the sights of the Baby Booklet issued when your child was born as well as sheets of paper loosely tucked within the booklet.

Truth is, I am lazy when it comes to filing up all of the past health and dental records of the monkies. I usually chuck them together with the baby booklets within the drawer and that's about it really. So it's little wonder that the pile has built up into a fine little 'mess' over the years.

And don't even get me started on the immunisation records of the monkies... it is a real headache trying to recall what jabs the monkies were due for when they were still toddlers!

But I foresee all my headaches will be cured with the launch of a new online portal, HealthHub!

In an effort to encourage Singaporeans to take greater ownership of their own health and enhance health literacy here, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has launched HealthHub to provide users secured access to personal health records as well as easy access to a range of localised health and wellness information to encourage the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits.

One of the key highlights for me is the myHealth feature, which allows me to access my public health records online by using my SingPass account (Logging in was a breeze by the way). Records include hospital discharge summaries, lab test results (chronic diseases), screening records and future medical appointments. Do note that the current system provides records only for the past six months.

I can also use it to look up the dates, times, and locations of upcoming medical appointments.

But the one feature that stood out for me was the opportunity to include my children's health records, including immunisation and dental records, as well as referral letters all under a handy section!

I cannot tell you how useful this feature is to me as a parent. Especially since one keep updated with the records on a smartphone by downloading the HealthHub mobile application via the Apple app store or Google Play store. In fact, the boys were so curious about their health records that they were raring to give the app a go!

Adding the monkies' names easy enough as all I had to do was to enter their Birth Certificate numbers. I can customize their profiles by uploading their photos as well.

Every single immunisation that the monkies had ever since they were born was displayed neatly - extremely useful for parents who want to keep their kids' immunisation records at their fingertips.

Another useful aspect is the Health Assessment records that the boys undergo in school. Sometimes when the kids get checked up in the school, parents might miss the summary slip of paper that they bring home. With HealthHub, all the kids' records and results are properly maintained for parents.

Yes, even for dental appointments in school too. Now the boys cannot run away if the school dentist gives them a poor oral health rating! Heh.

If you are looking for details on the various subsidy schemes, diseases and available medical & care facilities, the 'A-Z' Index category provides a one-stop platform for all your queries.

The 'Directory' category on HealthHub’s portal is very useful if you are searching for information and addresses of medical and lifestyle listings.

Besides the usual addresses of clinics, polyclinics, hospitals and pharmacies, the directory also includes lifestyle listings of gyms, parks, sports and even water sports facilities.

Want to keep abreast of upcoming events, news and programmes that you and your family can participate? Head to the 'What's On' tab for an updated calendar of upcoming events.

The 'Live Healthy' tab promotes healthy living through a library of articles that focus on lifestyle, tips, and body care.

The events and articles serve more than just providing information - they come in handy for everyone to wish to earn Healthpoints! Yes, this is the fun bit of HealthHub. Users will be able to earn Healthpoints by sharing articles and events by logging in via email or Facebook, or through the mobile app.

To start earning Healthpoints, sign up for your HealthHub account and receive 50 Healthpoints right away. An additional 100 Healthpoints are yours when you complete your profile.

So what can the Healthpoints be used for? Exchange your Healthpoints for NTUC LinkPoints to redeem shopping vouchers, offset grocery bills at NTUC Fairprice and more! Do note that Healthpoints expire and the amount you can earn is capped at maximum 300 per month.

And if you need one reason to download the mobile app, how about being able to exclusively access the 'Deals' for special deals and discounts at selected stores? Promotions range from food, fitness, wellness, recreation and healthcare.

Overall, I like how the HealthHub portal is rather comprehensive in what it has to offer. The most useful part for me as a parent has got to the ease of accessibility when it comes to my monkies' past health records, their upcoming appointments and health screenings. 

I would have loved it even more if I had the option of including my parents' health records given that they are more likely to have medical appointments at the polyclinics or hospitals. But I understand that the portal is still in its early stages, so hopefully more features and information will be added later.

For now though, I think I can depend on the boys to help me earn more Healthpoints!


HealthHub can be accessed at www.healthhub.sg and can also be downloaded as an application on mobile phones through the Apple App store and Google Play Store. 

For the full list of information, visit www.healthhub.sg/myhealth to find out more!