Emergency room confusion can be alleviated with a flash drive
Easy access to medical records allows doctors to provide prompt, proper care
5:26 p.m. Thursday, November 30, 2006
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As a hospitalist at St. Francis, Dr. Kimberly Moore cares for patients that she's never met before. She must assimilate information about the patient's history, medication and allergies quickly.
Moore is responsible for caring for other doctors' patients.
"I haven't developed that relationship," she said. "So, I'm a newcomer to them."
Medical data could become life-saving information.
Moore recommends filling out a St. Francis medical data card that includes medication, including dosages, diagnosis and names and numbers of your doctors. That's the simplist form to keep records.
A popular storage device called a USB drive also proves to be handy in emergency situations.
"You can put [medical data] on a disk or a flash drive and put it on your keychain," she said. "This would certainly expedite care and help me deliver proper care."
St. Francis also sees out-of-town patients, especially during the holidays - another reason Moore says carrying your medical information is important.
Medical data to have
St. Francis Health Center encourages all individuals to carry medical information, especially the following records:
- List of medications you are taking, including dosages
- Your medical history
- Immunization records
- Allergy information
- Name and phone number of your doctor
- Lab reports
- Copies of recent EKGs and MRIs
Ask 49’s Physician Panel
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