Simplify Your Family's Emergency Preparedness

How To Organize Your Medical Information

Information Hub Series - Part 2

woman entering medical information on a digital document on laptop

There are so many good reasons why you should organize your medical information. This isn’t just an emergency preparedness thing, this is an essential for every day living.

 

This post is part 2 of a series on the Information Hub. Keep reading to learn what you should include, how you should be storing medical records, and why this will come in handy.

**This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Why storing medical records is so essential

Have you ever:

  • Started your child(ren) at a new school and couldn't find their most recent shot records?

  • Needed to give a medical history to a new specialist Doctor?

  • Had to search high and low to find your prescription number so you could order a refill because you accidentally threw away the bottle?

  • Spent an hour on your insurance company's website trying to figure out what your out of pocket costs are?

  • Cut yourself opening a can, drove to Urgent Care for stitches and when the Dr asked you couldn't remember when you last had a tetanus shot?

  • Drawn a blank when you were asked what your blood type is?

I may or may not be speaking from personal experience  on some of these, but I can’t be the only one. At some point, I’m certain that you have wished you had taken the time to organize your medical information.

 

On top of that, I bet you’ve been in a bind at a Doctor’s office or school and wished you had medical history information with you because you just can’t quite remember if your grandma had cancer or heart disease. Or if your kid actually got their last vaccine booster.

 

The Medical section of the Information Hub is all of the above in one, easy-to-access place. And you can access it from anywhere if you save it to your Google Drive. Yes, please!

What's included in the Medical Information pdf?

1 – Medication

 

This section includes:

  • Pharmacy Information
  • Medication Details

2 – Doctors

 

Plenty of space to store information for different medical practices:

  • Type of Doctor
  • Name
  • Phone/Location
  • Website
  • Username/Password
  • Notes

3 – Insurance

 

Here’s what’s included in this section:

  • Insurance type
  • All the numbers (ID/Group/Rx)
  • Copay & Deductible
  • Out of Pocket Max
  • Benefits info
  • Payment information (premium, due date, bank account, etc)
  • Customer Service #
  • Username/Password

Is it the fun stuff? No, but it will definitely come in handy.

4 – Memberships

 

Consider AARP, life flight, AMAC, TSC, etc

 

  • Type of account
  • Representative to contact
  • Insured persons info
  • Payment information
  • Customer service #
  • Website account information

5 – Vaccines

 

All the routine vaccinations (plus the most recent addition brought to us by 2020). Plus space to add any additional vaccines your family may decide to get. Plus a space to type where the original documents are being stored.

6 – Medical History

 

What’s included in this section:

 

  • Blood type
  • Organ donor information
  • Allergies
  • Medical conditions & treatments
  • Surgeries
  • Maternal medical history
  • Paternal medical history
  • Siblings medical history
  • Plus space for any other medical history you have

7 – Documents

 

The things you do not want to spend time trying to find:

 

  • Medical Power of Attorney – This document authorizes a trusted person to make decisions regarding your medical care if you cannot.
  • Medical Directive – This instructs medical professionals to continue or withhold life-saving treatments for terminal or irreversible conditions. (there is also a place for this under the Estate Planning Section of the Information Hub)
  • Plus plenty of space for your personal notes

I know these are the things you don’t necessarily want to think about. But, when you need them you’ll be happy to know where they are.

woman frustrated looking at paperwork and laptop

Why you'll be glad you took the time to organize your medical information

Remember my friend, Audra, who moved around all the time? Well, her fun times continued with storing medical records.

Here’s is what she had to say about why it’s so important to organize your medical information: 

So, Melanie might have been talking about me in one of those bullet points at the beginning of this post.

 

One night, while cooking dinner for my family, I was opening a can of coconut milk. I have a tendency to not fully remove the top of the can once I’ve opened it (I really don’t recommend leaving the top on – stop being lazy like me). The coconut milk had hardened, so I was using a spoon to scoop it out and next thing I know, I’m screaming for my 12-year-old daughter to wrap my finger. 

 

I made my way to the local urgent care to get stitches (it was that bad.) Once I explained to the Dr what had happened, she looked at my age and asked, “When did you last have a tetanus booster?”

 

Even if I had that information documented somewhere, after moving around a bajillion times, I had no clue where to find it. Let alone be able to access it from my phone. 

 

On another note, with 3 kids who have unique life circumstances, I find myself filling out paperwork for many different medical offices. Orthodonists, Pediatricians, Physical therapists…oh my! Every single time I’m in a waiting room, I am on my phone trying to remember which doctor my kid saw when we lived in a different state.

 

I could have saved myself SO much time if the Information Hub had been available on my phone. All that information IN ONE PLACE.

I really hope none of you are doing the can thing, but I think we can all relate to sitting in a waiting room trying to find insurance information to write on a form.

Storing medical information in one place will make your life easier

If you’re struggling to know how to organize your medical information, then this is the solution for you. All of it, in one easy-to-find location.

 

This is information we all need to access on a regular basis. And it will come in handy in so many different situations.

mockup of medical section of information hub
  • Medication

  • Doctors

  • Insurance

  • Memberships

  • Vaccines

  • Medical History

  • Legal Medical Documents

  • Notes

Want to tackle organizing all of your important information? I suggest taking a look at the entire Information Hub. Complete it at your own pace and then rest easy knowing where to find that darn account number the next time you need it!

Start Organizing Now!

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