My wife and I were talking the other day and she brought up a great point. How would anyone know anything about me, who to contact, or my pertinent medical history if something happened to me while I was traveling. To be honest, this was something I had never thought about.
Most locums companies have a health history form and emergency contact information form that you fill out when you contract with them. But, as my wife pointed out, who is going to know I am working for a locums company? What if the information is needed at night, on the weekend, or on a holiday? There is no way to get the information. In a true emergency, we all know that we need patient information now, not on Monday when the office opens.
Thus began my search for a way to carry my information with me. The issue is how to have the information available without carrying around a piece of paper with your life history and personal information on it for anyone to find. So the search began. A Google search produced several options, however the all would make my information available to anyone.
The method I decided on is called a "Road ID". It provides an easily identifiable means to obtain my information. I chose the bracelet version. It has my name, year of birth, city and state of residence, and a phone number/web address to access my information. The back of the bracelet has a serial number and a PIN required to obtain my selected contacts, health information, allergies, medications, and anything else that I deem necessary for someone to know in an emergency.
No I am not endorsing a product, I am endorsing the idea that if you travel, you need to have a means to speak for you if you can't. Or as I tell my wife to watch her twitch, "a way for them to know where to ship the body".
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