How to keep your own record
of blood test results.
For each result, write the test name, the number, the unit and the date, exactly as the letter shows them, and keep the letter too. That is all a home record needs. What it must not do is decide whether a number is good.
Why keep your own copy
Results end up in several places: a letter, a hospital portal, a clinic's own app, a phone call. When you see a new doctor, or a specialist asks "what was it last year?", the number is rarely to hand. A single list, in date order, is the fix. It also lets you see a trend across years, which is something a single result never shows.
What to record
- The test name as printed: HbA1c, TSH, ferritin, not "the thyroid one".
- The number and the unit. Units differ between laboratories and countries; a number without its unit is a guess.
- The date the sample was taken, not the date the letter arrived.
- Who ordered it, so the result can be traced.
- A photo of the letter, filed with the entry.
What a home record must not do
Do not add a "normal range" from the internet and colour the numbers. Ranges depend on the laboratory, the method, your age, sex, medicines and the reason the test was ordered. A result that looks out of range on a web page may be exactly what your clinician expects, and the reverse is also true. Keep the number; leave the judgement to the person who ordered the test. If a result worries you, ask them.
Before the appointment
List the last few results for the tests that matter to your condition, oldest to newest, and bring that list. A clinician can read a trend in seconds and will often want it; typing the same numbers into their own system is what takes the time.
Where Biojrnl fits
Biojrnl keeps blood results as you type them: the test, the number, the unit and the date, beside your own notes, with the letter attached as a document. It shows no ranges and gives no verdicts; the record is yours and the reading is the clinician's. Results sit next to the journal on the Overview, and the whole record exports. Blood results are on the Pro plan and above (£4.99 a month); the free plan keeps the journal, medicines and emergency information. See the results screens and the plans.
Asked most often.
Should I write down the normal range next to my result?
Only if it is the range printed on your own result letter, from the laboratory that ran the test. A range from the internet can be wrong for your laboratory, your age or your medicines, and it tempts you to interpret. The number and the date are what matter.
What if I only have the result from a phone call?
Write it down with the date and who told you, and ask for a printed or online copy. A result you have only heard is easy to mishear.
Can I ask for copies of my results?
In most countries you have a right to a copy of your own health records. Ask the clinic or use its online service, and file the copy with your own record.
Yours to keep,
in your pocket.
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