How To Organize Your Health Records
In the most dire of circumstances, when neither you nor a loved one is able to communicate your health needs, having a well-organized set of health records available can be a life-saver, literally. Even in more normal situations, a complete set of personal health records can aid health care professionals in assessing your immediate needs without the usual customary avalanche of questions and answers that annoy both patient and doctor. Organizing health records can be done rather quickly, and once completed an individual needs to merely update the information that is present occasionally as it changes. This is not to imply that personal health records need to include every single incident of the sniffles, but it should present a clear general overview of individual health issues that can be quickly assessed.
Individual health records should be organized in three major categories, general health, specific illnesses and diseases, and medications. General health records would include dates and reasons for routine doctor visits, vital signs, height and weight, x-rays and basic lab results of tests that have been completed such as blood work. General health records should also include dental work performed and optometrist visits. This simple information will give a doctor a good basis on which to expand their testing and diagnosis.
Health records pertaining to specific illnesses and diseases should include specialized test results, surgeries, and contact information for medical specialists that have treated the patient for a given issue. These records should also state clearly any ongoing treatments, therapies or changes in lifestyle or diet attributable to a specific illness.
A patient's medical records should include all medications that either have been taken previously or presently either prescribed or over-the-counter, and the reason for their use. This information should describe in detail dosages, drug names, and the frequency and duration of their implementation. It is also important to list any allergic reactions that a patient is aware of to a specific drug, or drugs that have been used that presented side-effects that are or were intolerable.
A complete set of health records should always contain a copy of a living will, durable power of attorney for health care or any other specific advanced directives or personal wishes. In the instance of grave illness, emotions can run high for all concerned, but by including these simple bits of information your health care provider is bound by law to follow your directions to the letter and the only desires that matter are your own.
published 2 years ago
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Freelance writer living in a small, small Ohio town.
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This is very valuable information. People don't always think of those things until they have a health problem It's true, and by then sometimes they are so overwhelmed with health concerns that they can't remember everything they need to. Been there done that. Thank you for sharing.- Debster
added 2 years ago
Debster
292 points