Get Organized With Your Medical Information

Do you have a plan if you cannot communicate your healthcare choices?

October is the national "Organize Your Medical Information Month" and what better way to mark the occasion than to discuss living wills and advance directives. We'll also get into some organizing tips and tricks.

Chris Wagner, Advisor, and Advanced Planning Specialist at Vector, joins this week's Market Perspective for something different than our usual coverage of markets and the economy.

If you've ever had a medical procedure or even a doctor visit, you know that the amount of paperwork from clinics, insurance companies, specialists, and pathology labs can be overwhelming.

Having a physical place in your home to compile and file your medical information is a great start. A notebook, with, for example, your doctors' contact information and diagnosis dates, along with some folders to store insurance claims, test results, and pathology reports, can help you and potential caretakers retrieve information efficiently.

In addition to organizing your medical history, we recommend setting advance directives for your health care. The most common advance directives are the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care. These documents, drafted before you need them, list your values, preferences, and people you want to be involved in making choices about your health, especially if you cannot make the choices yourself.

Please enjoy the video discussion and let us know if you have any questions about organizing, setting up your living will, or other wealth management topics.

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Blog cover photo by Abby Anaday