Getting started: how much work is it?
Less than you might think, as long as you start with what matters most and add the rest over time. Here is what to expect and the order we recommend.
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| 1. Install and add your family | about 5 minutes |
| 2. Enter what matters most | 30–60 minutes per person |
| 3. Add documents you already have | 10–30 minutes per person |
| 4. Keep it current | a few minutes after each visit or test |
Coming from MyMedical? Skip steps 1 to 3: the import brings everything over in a minute or two. See Moving your records from MyMedical.
1. Install and add your family (5 minutes)
- Download Historia Medica, open the file and drag Historia Medica into your Applications folder.
- Open it and choose Start fresh.
- Click Add a patient at the top of the sidebar, enter a name, and choose Person or Pet. Repeat for each family member you look after.
There is no account to create and nothing to sign in to. Your records are stored in one file on your Mac.
2. Enter what matters most (30–60 minutes per person)
If you only have an hour, enter the things a doctor, a pharmacist or an emergency room asks first:
- Profile: date of birth, blood type, height and weight, emergency instructions.
- Contacts: who to call in an emergency.
- Medications: what's taken now, the dose and how often. Start typing a name and Historia Medica suggests it.
- Allergies: especially drug allergies, and the reaction.
- Diagnoses: ongoing conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or asthma.
- Physicians: the doctors you see, with phone numbers.
That's enough to print a useful Doctor visit summary for the next appointment.
3. Add documents you already have (10–30 minutes per person)
Lab reports, discharge letters, visit summaries and imaging reports often already exist as PDFs in your patient portal, or as paper you can scan with your iPhone.
- Open Media and click Add files to store them with the person's records. They are copied into Historia Medica, so they stay with the records even if you delete the originals.
- To attach a report to a specific test, X-ray or visit, open that record and use Add files in its Attachments area.
- If you want charts, enter the key lab values (cholesterol, HbA1c, kidney function…) in Blood tests. You don't need to type every old report; the most recent one or two give you a starting point.
Getting records from the VA or from patient portals is covered in Bring your records together.
4. Keep it current (a few minutes at a time)
- After a visit, add it in Visits with the doctor's conclusion, and update Medications if anything changed.
- When new lab results arrive, add the panel in Blood tests and attach the PDF.
- Use To Do for follow-ups and reminders, and Visits to schedule upcoming appointments.
A record that grows a little after each appointment is far easier than a big catch-up later.
Tips
- Back up. Choose File → Back Up… now and then, ideally to an external drive. Your records exist only on your Mac until you do.
- Use ⌘F to search everything for a person: a medication, a doctor, a test.
- Need help? Every page has a ? button, and the full User's Guide is a free PDF.