Know your medications and medical history

[caregiver222]

It is surprising, during ordinary times, how many patients call 911 and have only a vague idea about what medications they are on, the doses, and their precise diagnosis.

In times of a disaster, one can expect a large number of people to be evacuated and no longer have access to the medical records stored at home.

One solution is to maintain paper records, and to keep them ready to take with you.

Another is to maintain an electronic record on the internet of all your medications and medical history.

The easiest way to do this is to create folders in your own e-mail.

One folder for medications.

Another folder for medical history and diagnosis.

You can send an e-mail to yourself with this information and store it indefinitely.

The liklihood that the entire internet will be knocked out is non-existant, and this will provide a method for your treatment information, as well as the names of your physicians and their phone numbers, to be available no matter what happens.

[caregiver222]

The second thing to do is to use a flatbed scanner to record your entire immunization record, as well as that of every individual in your family. If you have an international WHO vaccination record, scan every page, along with the signatures. Then transfer every record for each individual to a separate file  and put them on your e-mail. As an alternative you can use an ordinary 10 megapixil digital camera (no less) and store the pages on your e-mail acount as JPEG images.

In the event of a flood, earthquake or disaster this will make sure your family does not have to undergo unnecessary re-vaccinations.