Six Ways to Get Better Healthcare
Tracking Your Families Medical History Can Influence
Early Problem Detection, Accurate Diagnosis and Better Treatment
Hawthorn Woods, IL, December 12, 2006 – When Laura Heuer’s son contracted viral meningitis and had severe allergic reactions to various treatments, she initially fell into an abyss of tests, prescriptions, doctor appointments, and conflicting medical advice. Then this enterprising mother of three decided to get organized and take control of the situation. Being better organized and able to lay her hands on important health information and case history regarding her son empowered Heuer to help her son get an accurate diagnosis. That experience eventually led her to work with FranklinCovey® to help create the FranklinCovey® Healthcare Organizer to empower others to do the same.
Whether suffering from an illness yourself or providing care to a loved one, Heuer says getting organized and involved in the medical process can help you receive better healthcare including earlier problem detection, a more accurate diagnosis, and more effective treatment. Although medical terminology and procedures can be overwhelming, following Heuer’s steps for getting organized can give you confidence and make the task less daunting:
Organizational Health Tips from Laura Heuer and The FranklinCovey Healthcare Organizer
1. Start tracking your family’s health history before there is a problem. By keeping a running log of all health-related incidents (i.e. tetanus shots, flu shots, ear infections, prescriptions taken, etc.) for each member of the family, you’ll be able to provide doctors with a complete and accurate family medical history if needed.
2. Check out the family tree. Compile a list of diseases and medical conditions that are common among relatives in your family. Identifying illnesses you are at a higher-risk of contracting may spur the doctor to recommend preventative treatment or tests for early detection.
3. Record symptoms and health-related activities in a calendar. Having a timeline of symptoms can help doctors identify trends that may impact diagnosis. For example, flu-like symptoms that occur at the same time every year may be an allergy rather than a cold. Migraines clustered around a menstrual cycle may be related to hormonal fluctuations. And more than four ear infections in a year could lead to more aggressive treatment than another round of antibiotics.
4. Journal symptoms as they occur. Don’t wait until the doctor’s appointment to try and remember every pain or abnormal feeling you’ve experienced since the last visit. Seemingly unrelated symptoms may prompt the doctor to try different tests or treatments than originally planned. Frequent urination, for example, may indicate a bladder infection. But excessive urination coupled with fatigue and persistent thirst, may be a sign of diabetes or another more serious condition.
5. Write questions and answers down. Again, don’t rely on memory to make the most of doctor visits. Write questions down ahead of time and then write the doctor’s response next to each question. The personal Q&A will be a handy reference later and can assist in communicating with family members or caregivers who might have similar concerns.
6. Keep everything in one place. Keep all health-related documents including family medical history, symptom journals, test results, immunization charts, list of prescriptions taken, insurance coverage, blood work, question/answer sheets, etc. in one organized binder. Having the information at your fingertips can be a real timesaver and it can also help ensure everybody involved in taking care of an ailing family member has the information to do so properly.
With the FranklinCovey® Healthcare Organizer, getting your and your family’s health organized is very easy. The Healthcare Organizer features a durable three-ring poly binder; forms and tabs for tracking Health History, Bills and Receipts, Appointments, Notes, Symptoms, Charts, Medication, Test Results, Doctor's Letters, and Resources; three blank tabs; and a sticker sheet with preprinted and blank tab labels. Plastic accessories also included are: two business card holders, one zipper pouch and six sheet protectors. This organizer is available in the FranklinCovey® monarch size for $39.95 and is available at www.franklincovey.com and at FranklinCovey's 89 stores nationwide.
About FranklinCovey®
FranklinCovey(R) (NYSE:FC) is a global leader in effectiveness training, productivity tools, and assessment services for organizations and individuals. FranklinCovey helps companies succeed by unleashing the power of their workforce to focus and execute on top business priorities. Clients include 90 percent of the Fortune 100, more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500, thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, as well as numerous government entities and educational institutions. Organizations and individuals access FranklinCovey products and services through corporate training, licensed client facilitators, one-on-one coaching, public workshops, catalogs, 89 retail stores and www.franklincovey.com. FranklinCovey has nearly 1,500 associates providing professional services and products in 39 offices and in 95 countries.
About Laura Heuer
Laura Heuer is the owner and founder of Jakoter Health Organizers, a company dedicated to offering personal health organization to families, individuals, and caregivers. Heuer partnered with FranklinCovey® to create the Healthcare Organizer because she believes highly effective people should also be active participants in organizing and managing their own health. Heuer likes to hike as much as possible with her husband of 23 years and her three active boys. Although her professional goal is to empower people through organizing their health, her personal goal is to raise her boys into three good men.
For additional information:
http://www.franklincovey.com/health
Telephone: 847-719-2054
Fax: 847-719-2862
E-Mail: info@jakoter.com
Website: www.jakoter.com
