Unexpected trips to the Emergency Room can be overwhelming for patient and family members. Emergency room doctors have to make decisions quickly without much medical background on the patient.
As a working single Mom, I had to be proactive when it came to unexpected trips to the ER for my son. I developed a one sided page of medical information that ER staff need to know, which included: contact information of doctors, medication, diagnosis, allergies, general behavior, date of birth, address, special concerns, communication skills, primary physician contact information, pharmacy, next of kin, insurance information and date of the update with initials. You should only use the front side for a quick review by ER Staff. If you discover that your information goes onto a second page, try decreasing size of the font and spacing between the lines to enable you to stay on the single side. This sheet was updated on a regular basis and copies were placed on our refrigerator, in school, in the car, and at my work place for easy access.
The doctors all commented that they wished everyone coming into the ER would bring this basic medical information with them to help them with their patient’s care. I would encourage everyone to have readily available medical information that can go with their loved ones to the ER. This sheet does not replace the person’s complete medical records. It is meant to help to give ER doctors a place to start, especially when patients are being sent to the ER without family support.
By sharing my experiences to the ER, hopefully, this information may help to keep your family members safe during unexpected trips to the Emergency Room.
Click on links below
Sample General Format of Medical Data Sheet for Emergency Room
Example of a Medical Data Sheet for Emergency Room