Be informed about your own health care. Knowing your own health condition can help you make better decisions for treatments that require informed consent and possibly avoid medications errors as well. Keeping track of medical information can be confusing and overwhelming, especially when you supervise the medical treatment of other family members. With increasing complexity in the insurance industry, from flexible spending accounts to pre-certification for procedures, the amount of paperwork is barely manageable while the financial implication is astounding!

Even the healthiest children have rigorous medical requirements from infancy through adolescence. Immunizations are required by law and proof is necessary for school and day care admission. Beyond that, many children experience allergies, infections and other health issues that must be documented carefully for secondary care providers. Meanwhile, elderly family members are living longer, more active lives, with the assistance of a complex regimen of vitamins and medications taken on intricate schedules.

To keep the family medical mess organized, create a Family Medical Library. Create a central location for key information and histories for each family member. Collect information that specifically impacts your family’s individual medical conditions from your physicians and trustworthy online sources.

A great way to do this is with the UniKeep organization system. UniKeep binders are fully enclosed and easy to organize. They contain clutter while offering the functionality of durable three ring binders. Accessories like pockets and business card holders let you customize your medical library according to your preferences and needs.Organize your family medical history into sections for each family member within a UniKeep case binder. Use tabbed pocket dividers to store and categorize smaller items like receipts and prescription information. The snap-closed UniKeep binder keeps everything contained. Create a binder cover insert or label (see our web site for examples) then put it on a shelf ready to use or refer to when needed. Take your Family Medical Reference Binder with you to your doctor’s appointments to keep it updated. You will have everything ready to update your patient information each year. Obtain a copy of the results from your doctor on your most recent medical history or physical to use as a starting point.

Checklist of medical information to include:

• Medication records and schedule
• Immunization record
• Allergies list, including drug allergies
• Important lab or X-ray reports
• Major illnesses and surgeries. – hospitalization record with dates and outcomes. You may need
  this if you change providers or insurance policies.
• Medical insurance and billing paperwork
• Photocopies of all current insurance and prescription cards
• Office and billing addresses – often different
• Prescription information provided by your pharmacy when medications are dispensed. Reprints are often available upon request.

Download this project in Word or PDF

Download FREE covers! Right click on the link and choose "save target as..."

Family Medical Reference cover for 1.0 (Word)

Medical History Sheet (Word)

Medical Activity Log (Word)

Note:these covers can be used on all sizes.

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Stay current and ask questions! If you or a family member is subject to a chronic illness, include information about your condition from books, pamphlets or the Internet.

By the careful organization of your family’s medical records and maintenance of a thorough medical history for each family member you can avoid many drug reaction and drug allergy related problems when you are visiting a new doctor or hospitalized. It’s your health and it’s up to you to keep an accurate record, many medical records may be routinely destroyed after a long period of time or there may be misfiled information. By preserving your family's medical information for future use your children will have a comprehensive family history of health trends and illnesses to refer to.
Through a family medical library you can also keep track of health care expenses and reimbursements that could save you from overpaying bills and saving you money.

You can also request your medical records from the national Medical Information Bureau for a processing fee of $8.50. Go to www.mib.com or call (617) 426-3660.

Words of caution! Not all information is good information. If you collect information from publications or from the internet, it is ALWAYS a good idea to discuss the information with your own family physician who will be most familiar with treatments that are right for you.

And remember – this is sensitive information. Recent legislation, such as HIPPA, has introduced procedures that health care providers must follow to safeguard your personal information. But you should protect your information, also. It is important to keep your own records current, accurate and easy to reach. However, this information should also be kept in a secure location. The contents are private and should be kept confidential. But that’s easy to do with a UniKeep binder!

For more information:

Medical Information Bureau - www.mib.com
617/ 426.3660

Consumer Healthcare Products Association - www.chpa-info.org/web/press_room/statistics/consumer_survey.aspx

National Center for Health Statistics - www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hinsure.htm

CDC Office of Health and Safety - www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/