by Erin Vallely

Medical emergencies can happen anywhere at any time.  For people with disabilities and chronic health issues, it is especially important to be prepared for emergencies.  Emergencies are often stressful and chaotic, and you or those around you might not remember all the important information medical people need about you.  We hope everyone will take the time this October to organize their medical information and prepare for emergencies before there is one.    

Importance of Medical Records 

Medical records describe your current health status and limitations.  During a medical emergency, medical professionals need information about your diagnoses, your medications, past medical events, and needs to provide you with the care you need.  Without this information, doctors and nurses could accidentally make you sicker.  Some people need certain medications to stay healthy or are allergic to certain medications.  Because of medical diagnoses, some people can’t have certain treatments.  While people can usually tell medical providers what needs they have, during an emergency you might not be able to, or you might forget to tell them something important.  Writing down your medical information and keeping it easily accessible is a good way to keep yourself safe. 

Steps to Organizing Your Medical Information 

Since people do not know when or where a medical emergency might happen, it’s important to have multiple ways to access your medical information.  Here are some steps you should take to protect yourself and those you care about.   

• NYS Health Care Proxy: A health care proxy is someone you trust, like a family member or friend, who you give permission to who will make health care decisions for you if you are too sick to do it yourself.  If you have not chosen a health care proxy and done the paperwork, doctors will automatically ask your closest relative to make decisions for you.  While this might be a good person to trust, they might not be the person you want to make decisions for you.  If you haven’t already, print out the paperwork and follow the directions to fill it out.  Keep copies of the health care proxy paperwork with your other medical information so it is easy to find. 

• New York State: A living will is a document that can help your health care proxy and medical staff know what kind of care you want if you cannot tell other people what you want.  It’s only used when you can’t communicate what you want if you are going to die soon.  However, it can help your health care proxy make decisions in less serious situations as well.  It asks questions about what medical treatments you want, and you can write special instructions for medical staff and your health care proxy about what to do.   If you haven’t already, print out the paperwork and follow the directions to fill it out.  Keep copies of the living will paperwork with your other medical information so it is easy to find. 

• Medical Records at Home: In addition to keeping copies of your health care proxy paperwork and living will in an easily accessible place, you should also write down the most important parts of your medical history.  The printable documents at 911Ready.org offer forms you can fill out.  They ask questions about allergies, medications, who your doctors are, your medical history, and your underlying health conditions.  Although the list of forms the website lists might seem overwhelming, the Emergency Medical Data and the Family Contact Log are most helpful in an emergency.  Keep these documents on your refrigerator door or by the front door for easy access by emergency medical professionals. 

• Medical Records in Your Car: Medical information is also important to have in your car in case of an accident, or if something happens when you’re out in public.  You can order a Medical Alert Car Emblem Kit to help signal to emergency medical professionals that you have important medical information they should know about in the car.  The kit comes with a sticker for your car and two medical information cards for you to fill out for the people who most often ride with you.  The cards ask about underlying diagnoses, allergies, medications, your blood type, your preferred hospital, and your emergency contacts.  You can even buy more cards to fill out if your information changes or you want to have information for multiple people. 

Get Involved!   

Although thinking about emergencies can be stressful, it’s important to be prepared.  You should also talk to your family and friends about what to do in case of an emergency.  Here’s some additional resources that can help you. 

• For more information about what power a health care proxy has, watch this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG73BIjFbE4  

• To see what you should include in your medical history, check out this guide https://mana.md/what-is-a-medical-history/  

• To help you prepare for an emergency room visit, read this article https://www.self.com/story/6-tips-for-getting-the-most-out-of-your-emergency-room-visit  

If you have questions about the information or need help getting your medical information organized, please contact ATI at (607) 753-7363 or by email at info@aticortland.org.