A Veteran is a Veteran Every Day

Friday was November 11th, the day to say thanks to our Veterans. The thing is, a Veteran is a Veteran every day and most of them need help just as often. As people grow older, their dependencies on supplemental care grow too. At some point, many will need around the clock care. This is where Caregivers come into play. They provide that supplemental care that cannot otherwise be obtained.

A Caregiver is someone who cares for an aging or ill person. In order to perform their duties effectively, Caregivers will need to understand who they are caring for. Financial, medical and health histories are very important to collect and track. For most Caregivers, this will require a great amount of time and effort. Therefore, one of the best tools a Caregiver could have is a Personal Health Record that can be managed by a computer.

With a Personal Health Record that is manageable via computer, not only will pertinent medical and health history be listed in an easy to read/follow format, but everything else that may pertain to legal and medical documentation can be laid out and managed also. This is perfect for the trips between lawyers, banking institutions and medical facilities. Instead of carrying and flipping through possibly hundreds of files and folders, you will only need a credit-card sized USB Personal Health Record.

It's important that those who risked their lives so future generations may continue to live in a free society get the care that they deserve. Don't wait for Veterans Day to say thanks, say thanks every day. If you know of a Veteran who could use an extra hand, especially in preparing for the future, consider at least introducing the thoughts of Caregivers and Personal Health Records to them. This may be that extra bit of ease on their minds.

Visit The Smart Med Card for more information on our available Personal Health Record devices.

Good Looks and a New Pair of Shoes Isn't All Your Family Gave You

You know, life is funny. For some of us, there may have been multiple family members with a rough health history, a history that in theory should have been scratching at every new generation's door, but instead, remained dormant. Then there are those who've had family members with minimal health issues, just the occasional complications and somehow the new generations are a walking target for everything in the book. The big bullet point to catch from this is that your family gives you the information you need in order to determine who you are.

Today, I want to share with you a quick introduction as to how you may go about locating your family's history and why this is important. There's no excuse to not build a history of your parents and their parents. It's neither hard or terribly time consuming. In fact, your life may one day depend on their history. Don't take needless risks on losing the wonderful privilege of living. Go to ReporterNews.com and read all about it!

If you need a little motivation on getting started, how about you collect this history while making a family tree? Make it a family-time project. Read our earlier post What's Your Story?

The Traveler's Personal Health Record

If you're prepared to leave town for any extent of time, be sure you and your travel companions have prepared your Personal Health Records. There's no easier time to fall ill then when you are away from home.

There are unlimited reasons you could become ill during travel and every reason that is serious enough for you to end up in a hospital is going to require you to give an accurate (mind you) and detailed medical history. In fact, adequate treatment may be delayed until your medical history can be obtained. Do you really want to wait that out? Here are some of the concerns you should address before you leave and why you should start at least a contact and current medical history (including scheduled OTC medications) Personal Health Record.

• Vaccination Decline - People may not be keeping current due to fear, forgetfulness or the feeling of needlessness. Without a fully vaccinated population, preventable deaths due to widespread illness will be prevalent. Are you sure your destination will be healthy when you arrive?
• Flying - With every person on that plane, there will be at least one contagious illness that could be passed from each one of them. With circulating air, your chances of exposure are high.
• Limited Personal Hygiene - OK, don't get to this one and roll your eyes! Deep down you know I'm right. What germs will you ingest from your unwashed hands during meals and how many more will you give a free-ride to after visiting the restroom (washing your hands and then turning off the water with your freshly-washed hands instead of using that drying-towel you just threw out)!

There's no worse time to get sick than when you are traveling, but mind you it does happen. Don't take needless risks and make a bad situation worse by not having any pertinent medical facts on your person. There's a reason doctors suggest keeping detailed Personal Health Records and that reason is: your life may depend on it.

Visit The Smart Med Card to begin your Personal Health Record today.

The Athletic Personal Health Record

Although we've all been told that a physical lifestyle rich in athletic activities is beneficial to our health, there is also an inherit health risk. Your initiative to begin and maintain a Personal Health Record, even treating it as a journal of your daily routines, could be the deciding factor in your ability to return to your activities in the event of an emergency.

The Athlete's Personal Health Record
Athletes, especially ones involved in secondary/post-secondary education sports, will near require a complete Personal Health Record that is presentable to physicians during physicals and injury assessments. It's also becoming a greater practice for coaches to take a more active stance in ensuring that their players are healthy and remain so. Coaches need to know any medical problems in order to allow their players to maintain an active stance within their sport but still remain safe. Doctors and physicians must also know about all medical history of both the athlete and family in order to properly treat and release the downed athlete.


Personal Health Record Contents
Athletes tax their musculoskeletal and cardiopulmonary systems continually. Therefore, any past history of surgery, injury, persistent aches and pains, difficulties in breathing and so on must be tracked constantly. Any signs of deterioration in any of these bodily systems could be serious and must be noted. Deterioration or defects of these systems can also be hereditary in nature, therefore, family history must be documented in detail. Any allergies, medications, tests and chronic conditions, even if seemingly unrelated must also be presented.

Please visit The Smart Med Card and start your Personal Health Record today!

Facebook, You're Not a Personal Health Record!

This morning, I came across a very interesting article where Facebook helped save a life. This person managed to post enough of their health and medical history to allow doctors to diagnose and treat the condition. If you could have only seen my jaw when I read that. Once I recollected myself, I got to thinking. Facebook is the biggest inhibitor to clear thought and proper judgement in younger generations since binge-drinking. Your private life should never ever be on a social network. In fact, no part of you should ever exist on such networks other than opinions, business information and some fun/not-so fun facts about your day.

If you look back to the original story, this person posted everything about their medications, feelings, worries...etc. What should have happened though, is that information should have been placed in a Personal Health Record (PHR) and carried on their person and updated during their Facebook Happy Hour. There is one clear picture that gets painted about PHR, though. They are easy to start and they are easy to maintain. That should be the only +1 you had gotten from that story. Sure, a life was saved, but what if that information that was posted got out? Let's list a few oh-no topics (found at reputation.com):

- Personal identity theft
- Banking information theft
- Burglaries
- Potential job opportunities
- Maintaining your business online reputation
- Credit card scams
- Potential college placements for yourself or a family member
- Safeguarding your insurance policy
- Protection from law suits or legal issues
- Medical benefit fraud

Does any part of that list look like something you would want to face? Oh, and don't start picking and choosing from the list of things that could happen. In the end, you're probably going to experience them all.

Friends, Personal Health Records are just that. Personal. Don't risk leaving your life or your family's life in shambles because your information got into the wrong hands. How much would you share about yourself in a room full of strangers? If you say nothing - does your Facebook page back that up? Lastly, please realize the importance of  writing, collecting and carrying any abnormalities you experience during the day within your PHR. Replace a few of your social posts with a post to your PHR, a place that matters.

All Hallows Even

On October 31st,  we find the celebration of Halloween (at one time All Hallows Even). On Halloween, people dress up in costume and go door to door asking for treats in lieu of them performing tricks! They carve faces into Jack O' Lanterns and light them using candles. With all of these customs that are celebrated on this night, have you ever stoped to ask yourself why we celebrate the way we do? Well, let me show you! Enjoy the show!

One Little Lie Forms One Large Consequence

When it comes to human nature, there is one glaring flaw that seems to become even the best of us. When we are in the presence of authority, we lie. For example, in a doctor/patient setting we may, in some twisted way, end up signing our death wish by not tracking and talking about our health and habits to our doctors because we fear judgement and feel ashamed. We give medical care providers either too little information or the wrong information and this can be deadly. Not knowing or withholding any medical history, eating and social habits and overall feeling of health could very well cut lifespan years shorter.

In 2004, there was a poll taken at WebMD collecting data about patient lies. The results were as follows:

 Of 1,500 responders to a 2004 online survey by WebMD, 45% admitted they hadn't always told it exactly like it was -- with 13% saying they had "lied," and 32% saying they had "stretched the truth."

Not included in those figures would be patients who "lie" without knowing they do so by withholding information because it slips their mind or they have no idea it could be useful. (Maybe Aunt Agnes would gladly tell about the time she snored so loud she woke the neighbors if she knew that a diagnosis of sleep apnea could depend on it.)[1]

One of the most notable, unquantified numbers in there: the 'lies' in which past medical history was forgotten or withheld. Chances are, the forgotten truth could be the most pertinent truth. This is why it is very important to spend the time backtracking medical history and collecting the data into a Personal Health Record. Even things such as slight color changes on features of the body, when ignored or not tracked for further developments could be fatal.

The truth be told, we as humans are complex and susceptable to breakdown in more ways than we can imagine. The practice of self-monitoring and reporting to medical care providers is one of the easiest and most proven ways to live a long happy life - even in spite of daily habits. Lastly, there's no need to fear judgement and persecution from care providers because if they did judge their patients, they would not be able to save the lives that they do.

A complete Personal Health Record could very well be your cheapest and safest route route through the healthcare system.Visit https://www.thesmartmedcard.com to begin tracking your health today.


Sources:
[1]"Do Patients Tell The Truth | Body of Lies: Patients Aren't 100% Honest with Doctors - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 08 June 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/08/health/he-lying8>.