What Medical Forms/Information Do You Bring With You When Traveling?

[Lisa]

Hi Brittany I’m so glad iv seen your question,it had totally slipped my mind,I’m going away in July & would like to no what I should take with me

[Brittany Foster]

Hi Lisa !
For my trip, I had everything on a medic alert form including conditions, surgeries, doctors numbers, medications, emergency contact. If you sign up for medic alert, you get printouts of the document. You can also scan in other important medical information from doctors. Here is the link . They also do medic alert bracelets that are helpful to wear on vacations as a “just in case” . For forms, I brought a note stating my medical condition and reason for oxygen use and how many liters I was on. I requested this from my PH doctor about 2 weeks in advance. I had recent Pulmonary function test results, brought all my meds in an organizer for pills per day so I wouldn’t forget any in the bustle of vacation. I also brought my oxygen tanks which was a challenge in itself but very needed !

[Beverly Repouille]

When I was taking care of my mother at the end of her life (about 4 years ago), she had a document on the computer that had all her medications, surgeries with dates, and doctors listed. She would update it as things changed. I decided at that point in time that I needed the same thing, so I created the same kind of list adding diagnoses with dates. I try to carry a current copy of this document with me at all times, not just when traveling or on vacations. It’s been a life-saver in many ways! (no pun intended!)

[Brittany Foster]

Hi Beverly ! Having something like that with your medical information on hand or in a safe place at all times is so helpful. Also takes some of the stress off of me when I begin to think “what if something happened here?” It’s sad but true that we just never know when we would need something like that on hand ! You’re right, it could save a life! So important ! Do you use a medical ID bracelet or jewelry?

[Jolaine Cowherd]

Hi,
When I leave home I wear my medical alert card. My internist wrote it. It’s in quite small font but very readable. It slips into one of the plastic name tag holders and I wear it with a lanyard around my neck. People think I am some kind of important person. Looking at it, no one thinks it’s my medical alert card. It lists everything important about me starting with medical condition, medications, allergies, oxygen when and how much. The back side gives home address, doctors’ information, ECG irregularities, and what to do in ER with my most common problems. I tell everyone I’m the only woman in the world with instructions to make her happy. ER loves it. I never have to answer any questions. They just take it and photo copy it. In ER doctors have very little time to communicate with other staff members. It comes down to only a few minutes at most per patient. It’s important to have PFTs, chest x-ray results, echoes, etc. in a small binder, but what they need first is what is your underlying condition, allergies, and medications. It must be small, easy to read and concise. When I wear my medical alert card around my neck, I don’t worry at all. If I’m in an accident, have an episode of syncope, no one will wonder who I am and what’s wrong. It’s all there around my neck visible for everyone who rescues me. No looking in my purse or on my phone. It really provides security!

[Brittany Foster]

Hi Jolaine,
what a great idea to have a smaller card with all of this information on it. It would especially be so helpful if there was an emergency situation. It panics me when I’m alone sometimes and don’t have this on me. I used to think “if something were to happen, nobody would know anything about me.” it definitely provides a sense of security and would save you from answering the same questions over and over again!

[Allan Edmondson]

I ALWAYS carry a memory stick around my neck with the following folders that carry information in date form/format:-
Advance Care Plan
Ambulance
Blood Type
Doctor Team – GP Specialist
Drivers Licence
ICE Contact
Insurance
Marriage Certificate
Medical Equipment
Medical History
Medication
National Health Index NHI (Hospital No)
Passport
Personal Address/Contact
I have .pdf documents within each of these folders reflecting the LATEST details. My wife was diagnosed with PAH in September 2009 and all medical and discharge documentation has been entered including all 6MW results ETC.
Visiting Australia a few weeks back, my wife was admitted into ‘Resus’ with breathing difficulity followed by 4 days in ICU.
I gave the Emergency Doctor my memory stick which contains my details and Sandra’s details which the Doctor was gracious for, then informed the Resus team – Standby, we are going to develop a new process with the information I have just received. Sandra was immediately hooked up to a myAIRVO 2 machine (very similar to my cPAP machine) and her 24/7 dry coughing bouts were almost settled within 1.25 Hrs and her face and finger colour began to return to HER somewhat normal colour. (if you can call her colour normal at the best of times). They maintained this process for the next 33 hours in case of a relapse to ensuring atomised moisture expanded her lungs to almost normal size and were moisturised. I was extremely pleased to see this process in motion including the wonderful team working around her.

I never leave home without this MEMORY STICK around my neck and the above episode is the very first time it was used in an Emergency. If you or your patient are living with an incurable disease, you would be unwise not to have something similar to work for you if you were unable to talk or communicate with your Carer or a Medical person who is about to examine you for one reason or another.

When I have traveled overseas I always carry a ‘backup’ stick should my No 1 memory fail fail.
Thanks
Allan

[Brittany Foster]

Allan,
That is so great that you are as organized as you are and have all of this information on hand and keep up with it and update it. This information is so important to have. Thanks for sharing all of this with us. Everything you have on your memory stick are the questions you would get asked so many times at the hospital ! So good to have that on you and very valuable in relieving stress if you’re worried about going somewhere that doesn’t know your history.

[Martina]

Hello,

just today, after yesterday events at hospital, where no doctors knew anything about PH, I put together list of all my medications, contact info how to reach my mother and sister and two my doctors and my nurse in the Centre for PH. I also put together basic info about PH in case of another doctor, who never heard about PH before. Two pages. I am going on vacation next friday on 10 days, so that will be first experience taking with myself all things needed for preparing dosages of Veletri. I will have with myself also copy of dismissal report from hospital, when I was diagnosed.

[Brittany Foster]

Martina, that is a great list of information! Do you have oxygen usage at all? If so, I would suggest also getting a doctors note for travel or a note explaining your medication and pump! Especially when travelling it is good to have something from the doctor too 🙂

[Martina]

I am not on oxygen. It didn´t help me at hospital.
Good idea to take info about pump, doctors had no idea, what it was, when they saw it.
I am not able to travel via train, so my mother is so great, that she will drive me there. It´s about 3 hours drive.
I don´t think, that now my doctor would write something like that, I will see him on 10th July. I will try to use google for Veletri… I can take manual how to use pump and how to prepare dosage of Veletri, there are even pictures. I have originals and I made copies of every manual I have.
I am going on Fantasy festival, so I will also have to find someone, who will help me to change tube every 3 days. And someone has to help me to my room with my luggage.

[Brittany Foster]

It seems like you are preparing well and have a lot of documents that you have found. As far as your luggage, make some calls to the hotel or wherever you are staying. They need to accomodate for disabilities. Just explain to them what you will need. Assign someone to Help you in advance so you don’t overload them with information! That will be helpful especially so they will know what is expected ahead of time.

[Allan Edmondson]

Hi Martina,
So pleased you received some joy in preparing documentation for your next travel. It is so important to carry information about your troubles so, as you say, many Medical People are completely ignorant of so many RARE diseases but over the last couple of years younger Doctors are arriving on the scene who have been taught about the beginnings of some of these rare diseases and that is only to beginning. In the meantime the likes of you and every person with a RARE disease are teaching their GP’s what to look for and how you are progressing in your day by day progression. You are teaching them how to walk in your shoes which is SUPER important. They are learning by your actual experience and you should be proud of that fact.

One item I forgot to mention before was: During our boat cruise through the ‘Inner Passage’ Alaska, my wife’s Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC) was damaged (by Customs Xray machine) on re-entering the ship from a Day Excursion rendering it non-operational and we had another 8 days to tour. The ship’s Customer Service accepted liability and the next day we arrived at the ship’s Medical Centre to be loaned their large home electric Concentrator similar to what we have at home BUT the Doctor would not release it until I could produced Sandra’s Medical Prescription for oxygen. That was NOT A PROBLEM as it was on the Memory Stick hanging around my neck. Had it not been there, there would have been a lengthy delay before I could get emails going back and forth to her Specialist in Auckland NZ.

Enjoy your break away from home. It will re-invigorate you for some more quality time with the family.
Regards

[Brittany Foster]

Wow Allan,
I’m so sorry that happened to you while you were away. For me I make sure not to take my POC into the xray with me or into the metal detectors. I never know what it’s going to deactivate. With a pacemaker too i can’t use the metal detectors. It’s great that you have the medical necessity form for oxygen with you. That’s a great piece of data to have with you when travelling and one that I haven’t taken with me. I have a note from my doctor saying the need for oxygen but not the medical necessity form given the oxygen company that outlines it in more detail

[Robin Taylor]

Wow! So much good advice! I thought I was ahead of the game getting my Pulmonologist writing an overview of my condition and getting a written Oxygen prescription of my own after reading Brittany’s advice after her ER visit. I lke both Allan and Jolaine’s suggestions! More homework to get on!!!

[Brittany Foster]

Robin,
you were definitely off to a good start with getting that information from your pulmonary doctor! I love all these suggestions that are on here and it certainly would make a trip to the ER a lot less painful and would make travel less stressful! One less thing to have to worry about makes a world of difference. 🙂

[jen-cueva]

Hi @vicky1437, this topic may offer some tips on traveling. I’ll look and see if anything else comes up and tag you.

[Debbie Moore]

If flying, keep in mind that different airlines require different forms, letters or prescriptions from doctors regarding oxygen.  Some require information in advance.  My cruise line also required information about my oxygen on advance.  Even though they said you would need to show them,  the airlines nor the cruise line asked to see these documents or make copies of them.