Back to school season offers the perfect opportunity to organize your family's personal health records. Most families with school age children have to fill out medical paperwork to submit to the school as well updating their emergency contact forms. Many parents perform these tasks repetitively every year without giving them careful thought. This could be a huge mistake!
Read this blog post about the importance of personal health records and designating emergency contacts. It can help to save your child's life during a medical emergency!
http://www.lotstolivefor.blogspot.com/2012/09/personal-health-records-emergency-contacts.html
Just a couple of tips from the article:
1. Organize your family's personal health records to include allergies, medications and much more.
2. Make sure that all family doctors are listed.
3. Consider purchasing personal health record software for your family (such as the Minerva Health Manager).
http://www.lotstolivefor.com/minerva_health_manager
4. The electronic medical record systems in doctor's offices are not the same thing as a personal health record because they typically do not coordinate records among providers. This is your job.
5. You must confirm with all the emergency contacts that you list on your forms that they are WILLING to stand in your shoes in the event of an emergency. It should not be a secret from the person you designate that they were selected.
If this does not convince you to organize your records now consider this scary fact:
Medical errors are the third largest cause of death after heart disease and cancer!
Please read this important blog post. It might just save the life of someone you love!
http://www.lotstolivefor.blogspot.com/2012/09/personal-health-records-emergency-contacts.html