http://chamberlainfp.com/2010/04/you-should-carry-a-medical-emergency-card/
Senior Spectrum – April 6, 2010
A medical emergency can happen at any time. How you are prepared may save your life.
Imagine you are walking, you trip, fall, bump your head and are unconscious. Someone will be there to call 911, the ambulance arrives, places you on the gurney and takes you to the hospital. Upon admittance, the hospital staff would look through your belongings to identify you and hopefully find someone to contact on your behalf.
If this were you, would the hospital worker be able to quickly identify who should be called? Your family or friends have a home phone number, work phone number as well as a cell phone. Do you have all of that information readily available in your purse or wallet so that your family can be contacted quickly?
In a recent survey, over 90% of individuals failed to have pertinent emergency contact information readily available in case of a medical emergency. For this reason, when clients come to my office for financial planning, one of the many recommendations is that that they carry this information with them. The problem is how to easily carry this crucial data.
This problem is now solved with a NO COST easy online form that you can go to, enter the data, printed out and put it in your purse or wallet. You will find this at Chamberlain Financial Planning forms.
On the form is also a place to indicate that you have an Advanced Healthcare Directive and the HIPAA health information release form.
The Advanced Healthcare Directive authorizes whomever you have selected to make your health care wishes known at a time when you can no longer do so. It will also list the types of procedures and testing that you may or may not want done.
The HIPAA release form will provide the authorization for your family and other trusted individuals to access the information necessary to complete your health insurance paperwork. If you do not have these documents, you should immediately contact your attorney to get them.
Do yourself and your family a favor. Complete the form, and put it in your wallet right now. If you do not have a computer, tear this article out, and talk to a friend or family member who does have a computer. Get them to do it for you. You would be doing your friends a favor by advising them about this free service, as well.
