Patent ID: 8321240

Claim:
A method for providing a user with a web-based service to access and collect health records associated with the user in a secure and private manner, comprising: assigning through a web site a phone number to the user for private fax and voice communications from health care service providers; assigning through the web site a user account to the user; associating access information with the user for the user to access the user account on the web site on a web server: creating through the web site a document for the user to provide to the health care service providers requesting the health care service providers to send the health records to the phone number and granting the health care service provider permission to send the health records to the phone number, the health records from the set consisting of a patient chart, a birth certificate, a vaccination record, a medical history, a lab report, a test result, a prescription, an x-ray result or image, a scan and an EKG result or image; receiving a private fax communication at a fax server, the private fax communication comprising a health record associated with the user for which the user has requested and given permission to the health care service provider to send to the phone number; converting the private fax communication into an image file format at the fax server; storing the health record encoded in the image file format such the health record is accessible through the user account on the web site on the web server; providing a means of receiving a message from the health care service provider and providing the user with access information to access the message; alerting the user of the message from the health care service provider and providing the user with the access information to access the message; providing the user with access to the user account on the web site on the web server using the access information; providing on the web site an interface to the health records of the user for the user to access the health record; and wherein the web site interface further provides for organizing and annotating the health records by the user into separate file folders with functionality for the user to name the file folders and add file folders; wherein the web site interface further provides for assigning additional password protection to one or more of the folders.