Add an Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate form to the list. This allows EMS to transport you to the hospital without being required to do CPR if you arrest on the way. It also covers care in the Emergency Room. A standard DNR only applies once you have been admitted to the hospital, not in the ER or during transport to the hospital. EMS has to be able to find the form and recommend keeping it with your medications as they will look for them. They also check your refrigerator for insulin so that is another place to keep a copy.
You will want copies of your Living Will (not as legally binding, more guidelines to your wishes, and may not cover the situation you are in or have been updated to reflect you current wishes or new treatments available), Medical Power of Attorney also called Health Care Proxy. (Requires frequent discussion to assure that the person knows your current wishes.) Power of Attorney(allows signing of financial forms) and Do Not Resuscitate order for hospital use. Nursing Homes a Hospice may require DNR's or have a policy stating that resuscitation will not be done.
In addition to giving copies to each of your doctors, keep copies in the file you take to any medically related appointment. It is important to have a current list of medications, allergies, insurance cards, name and phone numbers for all you physicians and any home health agencies. I also have the info on type, brand, size and date inserted or changed for my feeding tube and trach.
Having medical problems is a lot of work!
