As people age, their health care needs become more and more complex. Consider the amount of medications, health conditions, doctors and types of insurance that is needed by you or your loved one and you can see how this can be overwhelming.
When something unexpected happens, having all of this information at your fingertips can mean the difference between life and death. Preparing an emergency checklist can help. Here is some information to include on a checklist for you or your loved ones.
- All of your doctors names and contact information. Make sure to write down specialties so you know who to contact with a specific condition.
- A full list of medications currently being taken and the conditions that each medication treats.
- Personal information like social security numbers, phone numbers and checking account info.
- Medical insurance cards and contact information.
- People with power of attorney and what situation their power of attorney and decision making ability covers.
- In the absence of a medical power of attorney, who is the health care proxy that can make decision in the case of incapacitation or inability to make decisions?
- Living will and conditions of the living will. If there are specific instructions for medical measures to be taken, make sure they are known.
- List of contacts including close family, clergy or spiritual advisors, care takers, legal representatives and any others that should be notified in an emergency.
- Basic financial information including credit card and checking account balances.
Having this information will be extremely important in case of emergency for you and your loved ones. Should anything unexpectedly happen, you can be properly taken care of.
