FOR THE RECORD
Helping You Organize Caregiving Information
BY:ERIC FEIL
Maintaining accurate long-term medical, financial and legal records fosters better communication among patients, caregivers, doctors and other professionals. As a result caregiving is easier and more effective. But getting all that info organized can be a daunting task. Making it easier, portable and both computer friendly and hard-copy simple is The Guide to Good Care.
Developed by Gilbert C. Garza, Jr., who became overwhelmed trying to manage all the health-related information as the caregiver for his stroke-disabled father; his mother, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease; and a younger brother, who is a Down Syndrome adult, the Guide comes in both electronic and paper format.
The electronic format provides software making it possible to keep all relevant information on your computer and allows you to transfer that information to a bracelet that includes a 64MB memory device. The bracelet can be plugged into the computer of the care recipient’s doctor, lawyer or financial planner for quick reference of essential data.
For those less comfortable with computers, a three-ring binder portfolio with specially designed information pages is easily maintained and also portable for reference when meeting with legal, financial and health professionals. In both versions, separate sections exist for personal medical history, pre- and post-surgery checklists, allergy alerts, ongoing diagnostic monitoring, legal and financial records and more.
The Guide to Good Care e-Manager software, 64MB bracelet and 3-ring binder system are available at www.theguidetogoodcare.com. A special TV offer available on the website provides those items, plus an extra bracelet, additional binder pages and a tote bag for $89.98 (plus shipping and handling).