Medical History & Online Document Storage

When situations arise, and they will, your journey as a Carehelper will be so much smoother if you are prepared. By collecting and storing the medical history of your loved one, you will be positioned for success in the many decisions and situations ahead of you.

Your first step is to complete a full medical history for your loved one. Start by completing a getting a Magnus Health Portal account.

If you don't use Magnus Health Portal, organize your medical documents yourself and put them in an accessible and secure location.

Online document storage is a great option for your important documents because:

• You can access your documents from any where in the world.

• Your documents are safe from damage, theft or loss.

• You can grant access to other members of your family or even friends that may need them in the process of taking care of your loved one.

• Having electronic copies of your documents, allows electronically deliver them to authorized professionals prior to your visit which streamlines your process.

• Some documents can be automatically updated by authorized medical, legal, or financial professionals.

CaringSource suggests using our document storage option through Magnus Health Portal and you will receive a discount by using the CaringSource coupon code. In addition to offering a full array of medical document services, The Magnus Health Portal allows you to store all CaringSource documents with your membership.

Sign up with CaringSource.com and get started right away!

Personal Health Care Representative

As a Carehelper, you are not alone. In addition to the CaringSource community, you more than likely have others in your life that will be involved with the care issues as they arise.

It will give you peace of mind and prepare you for the upcoming inevitable situations when you establish a list of personal representatives (using power of attorney and a healthcare proxy as identified in the living will) for your loved one.

In many cases, this may be as simple as discussing this with your family physicians and/or signing a HIPAA release form. However, to be safe, it is advisable to attain a healthcare power of attorney, so that you can view and discuss your loved one's medical issues in their absence or if they are unable to make decisions.

Steps:

1. Be informed. Visit the U.S. Department of Health & Human Service website.

2. Share information with family and friends (see A Patient's Guide to the HIPAA Privacy Rule on the CaringSource Important Documents and Forms Page)

3. Secure a power of attorney using LegalZoom or visit an Elder Law Attorney 

4. Upload these forms to your Magnus Health Portal account.   

Medical Specialist Follow-Up

Follow up with all medical specialists involved in your loved one's care to identify and monitor his/her health status.

Steps:

1. Identify yourself as the personal representative of your loved one. 
   
   
2. Verify the contact information of each medical specialist.
   
   
3. Update the medical history forms on Magnus Health Portal to include the information gathered from each medical specialist. 
   
   
4. Make sure each medical specialist has the contact information of the primary geriatric physician. 
   
   
5. Make sure your primary geriatric physician has a list of all medical specialists involved in your care. 
   
   
6. Grant each medical specialist access to your Magnus Health Portal so they can update and view pertinent information.
   

Medications Review

Talk to your loved one's primary care physician or pharmacist to see when the latest review of medications was done and if there are any medications that need to be changed, stopped or started.

Many older persons may be in the care of a number of health care specialists and each of those care specialists may have prescribed a medication without reviewing the current list of medications. Additionally, over-medication or drug interactions may cause cognitive or health problems. So, it’s important to make sure that one person is regularly reviewing the list of current medications for drug interactions.

Medications List

Compile, or assist your parent(s) in compiling, a list of current medications and add them to the Magnus Health Portal's Medication Tracker.

Prescription Trackers allows people to track their prescriptions, dosage, frequency, and potential drug interactions. When a prescription is entered it will immediately display a flag if there is an interaction with any other medication. This can be printed or emailed to a doctor or emergency medical technician.

In today’s medical environment, it is important to approach your health with full understanding of your loved one’s medical history and current medications.

Primary in that understanding is keeping a list of current medications and possible allergies. Having this information in an electronic format helps you and your loved one even further by making the information convenient and transferable to most medical professionals.