In the past weeks, I’ve been asked several times about my opinion about the healthcare reform legislation and how it will affect us all, especially the children. But who has time to read the enormous manuscript, let alone interpret it and put all the pieces together? It is daunting even to us in the healthcare field. It has left me thinking how are we supposed to do the best for our children when we can’t even understand the basic coverage that may (or may not) be available?Since a good deal of this will require us all to wait and see, let’s look at a more practical approach, applicable to our everyday lives. The following are some pointers on managing your child’s health information that I want to share with all of you.
When it comes to your children, keep a file with the basic information about their health, including:
- Date of birth and related adverse events at that time.
- Social Security Number
- Blood Type – Many pediatricians have this information on record for them.
- Allergies – If your child has a moderate or severe allergy to a particular food or medication this is a vital piece of information to have available.
- Major Health Issues – These don’t need to be every flu or upper respiratory infection, but things like Kawasaki’s Disease, asthma, broken bones or surgeries.
- Immunization Records – These are needed all the way up to college entrance. Keep these up to date as your child grows.
- Present or long term medications
Other milestones such first words, steps, etc. are more relevant as memories for us mothers than for health issues, unless they come much later than the benchmark ages for these achievements.
As time moves on, the details of the healthcare reform will become more evident. As of now, it appears that the reports are favorable for children, especially for those with long term medical conditions.
Wishing you good health & healthy chats with your children,
Dr. Chrystal de Freitas
Photo: (c) David Niblack/Imagebase.com
