Organize Your Medical Information For Unforeseen Medical Emergencies

Every month, you, like most people, receive a variety of documents concerning your health status. The piles of medical papers add up, from referrals to benefit explanations to treatment instructions. Multiply this by the number of family members in your home, and you can see how disorganized medical records can be an ongoing issue and a source of great stress in the event of an emergency.

The solution is a system for managing and storing your most important medical records in a location where they are easily accessible. Without one, you're unlikely to find the paper you need when you need it. You can use various filing supplies to create your own system for organizing all of the paper associated with your medical records and treatments.You can also use a pre-made system with labeled categories to keep everything in one place. This prevents you from having to reinvent the wheel, which is especially useful in an emergency.

When my father suffered a stroke in 2012, I witnessed this firsthand; I needed to be able to get my hands on his medical records, which included a list of all medications he was taking, right away. My father didn't have a system in place to which I could refer to, he couldn't communicate to me where I could find all of that information.  I was the only child living close to my father, it was my responsibility to coordinate everything related to his sudden illness, including doctor appointments, multiple medications, referrals, tests, treatment, rehabilitation therapy, diagnoses, and more. 

I found a ready-made system with a place for everything we needed to record and track his care, as well as a place for business cards, appointment cards, and a notepad for noting doctor's comments. During my father's health crisis and treatment, it was a lifesaver.

During my father's slow recovery over the next six months, his Medical Organizer became the "go-to" place for all of the medical information we needed at our fingertips on a daily basis. The Medical Organizer accompanied us to every therapy session, doctor's appointment, and test. I felt in command again, and I was pleased that I could offer my father the assistance he required.

As my father recovered and his memory became more reliable, having this ready-made system to track the history from the date of his stroke was a godsend. He felt in control because he had all of his medical history at his fingertips as he continued his therapy over the course of a year. The moral of the story is to prepare for the unavoidable emergency now. It will be critical to stay organized and in control during a situation that is completely out of your hands. Make it a point to tell loved ones where your system is kept. Having a well-organized system at my disposal made me feel in control, allowing me to devote my full attention to my father's care.