By: Alex Sharp, TAMVOES Business Development and Sales Manager
If you’re like me, you probably haven’t given too much thought to your medical information. The extent of most people's health knowledge is some memory of past hospital visits and a vague idea of some of their past medications. Having your medical information handy is something that you don’t worry about until you encounter situations where you desperately need it. It is great to get an early start on recording and storing your health information, but you’re never too old to get started. So regardless of if you are healthy or sick, here are some reasons why you should be paying more attention to your health information:
1. Emergencies
When we’re healthy, we like to be blissfully ignorant that we will ever be in an emergency medical situation. The facts are that it is very likely you will have a medical emergency sometime in your life. Most likely, you will have multiple emergencies. Unfortunately, the Canadian medical system is inefficient and doesn’t do a good job at finding your past medical information from past hospital visits, family doctors, and other sources. For the most part, doctors will rely on your memory to collect vital past medical information. This can be disastrous, as 80% of healthcare errors are caused by miscommunication. In emergencies, there isn’t enough time for doctors to double-check that everything you said is accurate. Rather than relying on memory, always have a detailed health history with you. Having it accessible from your mobile device means pulling it up whenever needed and being able to provide a rapid and accurate detailing of your health history.
2. Vaccinations
Maybe you remember when you got your COVID-19 vaccine, but can you remember what vaccines you got in high school…elementary school, probably not. Personally speaking, I can’t even remember which vaccines I have received, let alone if I require a booster for them. Knowing if you’re up to date on a vaccine is important when travelling to a new country or starting certain jobs. By using a digital recording of your vaccine history, paper vaccine cards can be a thing of the past. It is never too late to start recording all the vaccines you receive!
3. Caregiving
It is important that not only you’re recording your health information but encouraging other important people in your life to follow suit. Youth are more than ever becoming caregivers for elderly parents, grandparents, and young children. As a caregiver, recording and having access to your dependent’s health information is vital when communicating with the many health professionals they interact with. This is especially important for caring for those living with chronic conditions since their medical history can often become very complicated.
With the Canadian health care system so fragmented, your information is stored across many different systems and within various hospitals and clinics. It is on you to get a good understanding of your overall health. There are many sites and apps that allow you to input and access your health information. I recommend TAMVOES Health; it is available on your computer, IOS and soon to be Android. It is completely free, secure and empowers you in your health journey by allowing you access to your health information from anywhere. Whether it is recording your vaccinations on your phone or tracking your doctor's appointments, I hope that we can all take baby steps to take a more proactive role in managing our health.