An Essential Cheat Sheet of Important Medical Info

Having worked countless hours in emergency rooms, I can tell you that patients rolling into the e.r. vary widely in composure. Some can calmly recount the exact details of their illness. Others can barely remember their name. Providing accurate, concise information during an emergency is crucial. So carrying a brief synopsis of important medical information with you can literally save your life. It can be low tech (written on a card and kept in your wallet) or high tech (an email to yourself, stored in your Blackberry or other personal digital assistant so you can email it to somebody in the emergency room). Trust me: the doctor will not know what "the little green pill" is. You need to know the names of your medications, and the dosages, and how often you take them. I've put together a list of some basic information that you can carry with you; it's not all-inclusive (I've kept it to a single page) but it should be helpful in orienting your emergency healthcare providers (Download file here). I suggest you try to bring a pen and writing pad to jot down details of your illness -- on the way to the hospital if possible; you also may want to take notes so you can remember what you were told by the various health providers you will be meeting. Don't underestimate how discombobulating an emergency visit to a hospital can be!

Because you never know where you'll be -- or what you'll be carrying -- when you head to an emergency room, I highly suggest that you share your medical synopsis with an "emergency healthcare buddy." That person should be technically savvy enough to transmit the information (securely if possible) to the emergency room via email, fax, or whatever new technology comes along.

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Comments

[LordMoon]

A good idea, but don't forget all the names of the drugs your taking, their dose and their frequency, and potential side effects, in case your doctor isn't familiar with them.

Also try and remember if there have been recent med changes and if you've taken any over the counter medications recently. Then you might also consider revealing, if you've used any street drugs, herbal medications, or spices. Their names and amounts.

Try and remember if you have any friends come down with what you have recently, or if family members have had the same problems or symptoms. If there was a hx in your family, of bi-polar, heart disease, panic attacks, cancer, HTN, or a hereditary disease, that might be helpful too.

If your smart enough to plan ahead you might even consider, buying a Merck Manual, so you can suggest treaments your ER doc can follow when you get there. This will save time so he won't have to check his Merk while you wait on the gurney.

Pharmacy's offer low cost tests, that you can buy to diagnosis common ailments, and it's good to have a home medical bag with a tuning fork to diagnosis fractures, a digital thermometor, bandages, stethascope, a pen light, a rubber hammer, epson salts, antiseptics, burn salve, a home dental kit, and emergency phone numbers.

[babyboomerorig]

As good as this all sounds, the reality of calling 911, the police showing up before the ambulance, remembering to get dressed in the wee morning hours, and then remembering to grab some change to call the kids, it takes the first time of emergency runs to learn some of these things. I keep my husband's med list/dosages in his wallet and one in my wallet. Another hangs on the refrigerator door for the paramedics to grab (my EMT daughter's suggestion).

ER's are difficult, especially for that first time, unexpected visit. My husband's ER doctor came into his "room" to tell me that the transport ambulance was on it's way. Huh?? What transport ambulance? I didn't realize it at the time because of all the confusion and my not being familiar with what happens during Congestive Heart Failure, that the local hospital doesn't have a cardiac unit, so we're off to their Heart Specialty Hospital 50 miles away.

You're NEVER prepared for an emergency run to the hospital. It's a foreign concept to all of us.