How to Organize Family Health Records
Family health records provide a history of your family's diseases, medications, injuries and physical exams. Keeping this information organized and up to date is an important step in ensuring that your family stays healthy and safe, especially in the event of an emergency. Being able to provide a physician or hospital with a complete record of treatment can streamline the recovery process and help dodge critical issues, such as medical allergies.
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Instructions
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Subscribe to an online health record service, such as Microsoft HealthVault, MyMediConnect or Records for Living (see Resources). These services allow you to safely store and organize your health information online, with the added bonus of being accessible from anywhere you have an Internet connection. You can store allergies, prior conditions, previous and ongoing treatments, as well as prescription information here.
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Keep a family health journal. Although not as accurate or detailed as medical records, a health journal can show problems that have arisen before and the best ways to deal with them. This information can also provide context for an injury or illness and thus help a doctor with a diagnosis. Note in the journal any unexpected trips to the doctor or emergency room, illnesses as they occur and any other data that you deem important.
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Store hard copies of your medical records in a file cabinet. Sort them by family member and date so that you can quickly access recent and important information. Keep spares in an alternate location in case of fire or theft.
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Create a database regarding important family medical information in a spreadsheet program. Include injuries, doctor visits, illnesses, vaccinations and any other relevant medical data in this spreadsheet. Drug allergies should also be listed here to keep your family safe in the event they require medicine. Once your list is complete, keep it updated whenever something changes. After each update, email the spreadsheet to yourself. This will allow you to access it from a smartphone or anywhere else you can check your email.
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