📚 Countdown to Martha's Vineyard: The Key Doc I'm Adding to My Summer Reading List
🌴 Welcome back to the Summer Sandbox, 🌴a new series from #TheFamilyHealthcarePlaybook focused on getting your family's "healthcare house" in order.
🍇💂 I'm counting down the days until Martha's Vineyard and London, and I'm knee-deep in boxes (of books), retractable banners, and late-night Canva designing for my marketing signage.
✈️ Since I'm flying from the West Coast, I'm also taking a second look at my summer reading list and adding a new item to the list. I've got a mix of fun beach reads, some business bestsellers, and a few fashion magazines too (yes, I still love physical magazines). I've also got a copy of my Personal Medical Fact Sheet from The Family Healthcare Playbook.
🚫 Wait… I know what you're thinking. It's summer, it's sunshine, flip-flops, and PTO. Why am I talking about family health preparedness and medical stuff?
📚 Simply put, the 3-4 short pages that comprise your Personal Medical Fact Sheet are some of the most important reads you'll do all year. The Personal Medical Fact Sheet is a comprehensive summary of your personal medical history, from your family emergency contacts to the names and contact information of key members of your medical team (primary care physician, specialists, etc.), to a list of any surgeries and significant illnesses, to any allergies or potential drug interactions. You should create a Personal Medical Fact Sheet for every member of your family. It's often more expansive than what's included in your Electronic Medical Records (EMR), and it's your job to keep it updated.
🛟 Crisis prep is in my DNA: I'm a communications exec, so I'm no stranger to scenario planning. And yet, while we develop business continuity plans for software outages, security breaches, environmental hazards, and customer or partner challenges, we often leave our own family's health emergency plans to chance.
💪🏼 Let’s change that! I talked about this before around the July 4th holiday, but it bears repeating: don't wait for a frantic midnight phone call or a panicked rush to the ER to rack your brain for your (or your parents') medical history, or to research whether or not you have advance directives for healthcare and finances.
Use the calmer month of August to build out your household healthcare infrastructure, which should include your Personal Medical Fact Sheet. You can start small, tracking down info like:
✅ What’s your blood type? What are the blood types of your loved ones?
✅ Do you know the names and dosages of all medications you and your loved ones are taking? Do you know the intended purposes of these medications, as well as their side effects?
✅ Do you have a POLST? (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment)
✅ Do you know your and your immediate family's medical history?
✅ Do you have a blood pressure cuff, pulse oximeter, and a thermometer in the home? If any of those require batteries, have you checked them lately?
🧰 If your company has a Caregivers ERG, tag them below and challenge your friends and fellow colleagues to a summer workflow reset. Take a few hours this month to review your own personal medical data, check your Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) to make sure the information is current, and start building (or updating) your Personal Medical Fact Sheet. This is your family's single source of truth for your healthcare information. Stay Ready, So You Don't Have to Get Ready!
🕶️ Let’s get ahead of the fall! I built The Family Healthcare Playbook to help you do just that. And if you're going to be in Martha's Vineyard or London in the coming weeks, I look forward to seeing you! My DMs are open; ping me here on LinkedIn or at karesha@thefamilyhealthcareplaybook.com
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