Keep Your Details from Slipping Through the Cracks | Blog on ...

Do you have a summary of your medical information? It is easy to think that you will remember all of the details but years later some of those?background details?might be important than you think. Perhaps someone else will need more information?if you are seriously ill.

As a speech-language pathologist doing home health care, I often have a?patient who is unable?to recall or relate?important information for a variety of reasons including speech problems and?memory loss.?Often other family members and/or friends may not be able to provide the needed details. Sometimes that information is very hard to track down.

We make lists for so many things and often organize the details for projects so this strategy is a frequently used one. When I was seriously ill decades ago there was so much information I needed to keep track of so I could assess what was helpful and what was not, I finally had to create a daily diary. Clearing out files a few years ago I came across the notebook and realized how helpful this system had been for that period of time.

MEMORY INFORMATION BOOK:
A?woman shared how she kept track of what was where in her house. She was becoming less mobile and relied on others to get things from her basement and garage. With some help she created a list of what was stored where ? ?room by room. For many of my patients, I suggest that once they are home from the hospital that they make a note of the major details and doctors involved. From there they can eventually work backwards, perhaps with the help of others, and create details of previous medical history.

TO DO:
Start simple. Put together an information notebook with tabs. Maybe you will have a section for birthdays, yearly fees, how to use a particular appliance or device, or where you moved an object you rarely used. Start a section for your medical information. Keep updating it as needed.

?Details create the big picture.?
Sanford I. Weill

Kathryn Kilpatrick received her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 1968 from the University of Massachusetts. She has worked in a variety of settings, primarily in Ohio, including hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and home health care agencies. Kathryn is president of Memory Fitness Matters (www.memoryfitnessmatters.com) and Communication Connection(www.connectionsincommunication.com), offers memory coaching and has a geriatric consulting practice. She is a national motivational speaker and author of more than 30 products to enhance communication and connection. Kathryn brings her decades of experience as a speech-language pathologist to all those wanting to enhance their quality of life, particularly when there are communication, memory and cognitive challenges.

Source: http://connectionsincommunication.com/blog/2012/03/keep-your-details-from-slipping-through-the-cracks/

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