Medical Binders

Full Disclosure: This idea was completely and wholly stolen from my sister Katrina. She is not only incredibly organized, but her second child was born premature. They've moved quite a bit and due to his extensive Dr's appointments, Katrina came up with the oh so brilliant concept of a medical binder. When the girls and I left Boston, I requested a copy of their medical records from their pediatrician. We didn't know exactly where we'd land and I wanted to make sure I didn't forget. Before I handed the records over to their new pediatrician, I decided to heed Katrina's advice and create medical binders. I made some changes from the way Katrina does hers, but if you'd like to see her version, it can be found here.

Materials:
* A 2" heavy duty binder with plastic front insert. Like Katrina, I color-code these for each child: pink for Liesel, yellow for Ireland.
* A nylon binder pencil case (while I was at it, I also grabbed a pen and mechanical pencil in the same color. If it ends up in my purse somehow, I know exactly where it belongs)
* A notebook with 3-ring punch
* If your binder doesn't come with folder flaps on the inside, a binder folder for loose materials
* Plastic page protectors (we buy in bulk from Costco)
* Plastic business card holder sheet
* Plastic sheet with pockets (2 per page)
* 5x7 photo of each child

Assemble as Follows (front to back):
1. In the nylon pencil case I put the little immunization card given at birth, a pen and pencil.
2. The notebook which is of course for taking notes during the appointment.
3. In the plastic card holder sheet I put the business card of every Dr starting with my OB-GYN (should anyone need to get a hold of birth info). I also have insurance cards (both current and former), hospital id cards and the nearest pharmacy where I prefer to pick up prescriptions.
4. Then I began filling in the page protectors. Because I had all the girls medical information handy, I created an excel spreadsheet of Dr's visits with columns for Date, Well/Sick, Age, Weight (lbs), Height (in), Head Circumference (in) and Notes. If there was a sick visit, I made sure to include the reason for the visit in the notes.
5. I found a website that provides excel spreadsheets which plots height, weight and head circumference when you input the data (found here). I update the info and print out those charts after each visit.
6. The plastic sheets with pockets were the perfect size for ultrasound photos.
7. Next I put in a page protector the birth record and copy of birth certificate. My sister also includes a copy of her kids SSN card but I'm too paranoid about identity theft to do that. I also can't think of a medical situation when it would ever be required but if you want to be thorough, to each his own!
8. Patient summaries of any ER visits. Liesel's binder even has copies of the x-rays from when she broke her wrist. Regular check-ups tend to come with a fair amount of info (ie All About Your Child's Hep B Immunization!) but after I read them, I toss them. Those go right into the folder flap at the back of the binder during the appointment. In the front flap I put anything they want me to fill out before the appointment so its handy.
9. Privacy policies. I'm not a litigious person, but I like to have this around to make sure I know my rights.
10. Finally, I used my label maker to clearly mark each binder. I put some fun scrapbook paper in the front insert and taped the 5x7 photo right in the middle. Should I leave it in the waiting room, a kindly stranger might know it's mine just based on the photo of my girl.

I dropped a small fortune at Staples to get all the materials and make copies. Putting everything together took an afternoon of hunting it all down and assembling. I was curious to see if my hard work would pay off at the girls first visit to their new pediatrician. Did it ever! To say the Dr was impressed would be an understatement. She said she had never seen someone so organized and even asked what I'd done before becoming a SAHM. When I told her I'd worked in Finance, she was surprised I wasn't in the medical field. I was able to definitively answer every question she had (which was a lot for a first visit with both girls!). She even ended up referencing the height, weight and head circumference charts I'd plotted just for a history.

While I was gathering information for the medical binders, I noticed we had a lot of documents that weren't necessarily medical in nature, but were nonetheless important. While I was at Staples, I bought an extra 2" binder in the colors I'd selected for each girl. I filled them with page protectors and plastic sheets with pockets. This is where I put hospital bands from labor and delivery, family predictions on height, weight and time of delivery, notes and cards that accompanied flowers sent after birth, the card from Katrina describing in detail the quilt she made for each girl, birth announcements in the church bulletin, savings bonds from the grandparents, blessing certificate, blessing notes (taken by both grandmothers), locks of hair from the first haircut, Build-A-Bear certificates (they have to go somewhere!), and notes about the psychology studies the girls have participated in. If there's a fire, we can quickly grab the brightly colored binders and we should be all set.

Someone once told Katrina she could make a fortune selling these to new mothers and she just smiled and shook her head. Katrina has (of course) moved on to her next project...