How (and why!) to keep a medical binder, one source for your medical information. You can print or save this for when you have time. Just knock out one section when you have a minute. You don't have to do all of it at once, so don't pressure yourself to!
Why is a medical binder important?
- helps you keep track of all meds you've tried, failed, are allergic to, and which ones worked.
- helps keep track of times you DID see a doctor and exactly when and why you saw them
- helps family members or trusted people figure out what you can/can't have in an emergency
- helps a doctor figure out EXACTLY what your history is and how to help better, or *at all.*
- brings down certain medical costs by showing what you already did and don't need to do again
- doctors often see too many patients. insurance insists. they need to help quickly, accurately, EVERY time... but they are human, and the consequences for BOTH of you are terrible. Especially for you, though. One person will just "feel really bad." You might suffer a lot. How do they remember you AND remember your specific issues? They can't.
There are a lot more reasons but most of them distill down into these four categories.
We all think we'll remember exactly when we went to a doctor, why, what happened, etc. but... actually, people have been shown to misremember things, get things out of order, or just blank on a detail pretty easily. Keeping one binder is a portable way to keep everything documented and you can just pick it up and take it with you. No filing folders!
And what if there's an emergency like a car accident or sudden heart trouble, or a mini seizure that leaves you confused? Then YOU won't be able to give your information! Someone else has to. Someone else will not know exactly what you know. They won't know that you're allergic to common stuff like latex or aspirin. Or they'll be so scared or anxious that they'll panic and forget. We all think "That won't happen to ME!" ... until it does. And then on top of feeling powerless, you feel stupid for forgetting basic stuff.
Skip all that. Work on making a binder for all this. Anyone should be able to read through maybe 5 pages and have the basics down. That's making it easy and concise for YOU and for a trusted person in an emergency.
Keep reading for the tutorial on how to make a binder. There should be one for every family member, especially kids, so a parent or guardian can just pick it up and take it if a child needs attention.
Doctors aren't used to seeing patients come prepared like this. Some might think you're "overprepared," or trying to start trouble just because you... take care of yourself? Strive for accurate information? Man, how shameful for someone to have a history you can just *hand* the new guy so they can help you better! Don't take it personally. Some calm down when you tell them that you have limited funding and/or time and can't do the same things over and over again. You just want to help them see where you're at and if they want, where you've already been. A lot of doctors are strangled by insurance companies and are only allotted maybe 15-20mins per patient. You just want to make this easier on everyone, not waste time trying to remember if you were on 40mg of antacids or 20mg. Doctors were once med students! They understand the importance of accurate notes!
