Important additions to your packing list…

• Medication List
• Allergies, Health Conditions, and Blood Type
• Physician Contact Information
• Emergency Contact Information
• Health Insurance Information
• Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney

A few additional important items to consider:

• If you are traveling internationally, you will also want to confirm that your health insurance will cover events outside of the United States. If it doesn’t, you should consider purchasing a travel insurance policy that will cover any medical expense incurred while you are traveling. 
• If you have children under the age of 18 who will not be traveling with you. make sure you leave important health information and necessary treatment consents with their caregivers will have the information and permissions they need to take care of them while you are gone.
• If you are leaving pets behind, make sure your pet sitter has all of the information they would need to take case of a pet emergency.
• And, don’t forget to leave the housesitter with your contact information and the contact information for your regular emergency contacts and close family or friends who can help out in the event of an emergency at home.

Keeping track of all the information and authorizations needed today to care for yourself and your loved ones can be overwhelming.  Luckily, there are some great digital tools available to help you manage your information on the go:               

Web-Based Health Information Organizers:                          

• • CareTree.me
  • Follow My Health
  • Lydia

Family Information Organizers:                                 

• • Everplans (Web-Based)
  • My Data Diary (Stand-Alone)

Having the right information, in the right place, and at the right time in a medical emergency will save you time, money, and frustration.  It could even save your life!