Everyone needs a map.
The most efficient way to go anywhere is to create a plan and follow a map. First, you need to know where you want to end up, and then you need to create the plan to get you there. In healthcare, as with anything in life, it’s the same thing. You will have the best results if you create a plan and follow it. HealthMap™ is important for everyone to complete, whether healthy or sick, because it helps you to improve your healthcare status. Healthcare can be complicated and confusing, and it is essential for you to have control. Creating your healthcare map™ will put you in control of your healthcare future. You should base your map leading to your ideal health state on the three HealthMap™ concepts:
- Your plan
- Your information
- Your partners
Your plan…your healthcare plan
The plan is your first step in creating your HealthMap™. It is specific to you. First, you need to decide what you value most in your healthcare and what your ideal health state is. Do you value efficiency? Quality? Technology? You decide. Then, you need to create a vision of your healthcare and ideal health state in the future. How do you picture yourself? Describe it and write it down. Lastly, you need to create your mission statement. This is a statement of what you are going to do to achieve your health vision. These three statements, your healthcare values, vision and mission are your healthcare map™ to the future. This statement will give you a sense of:
- Certainty, in an uncertain world
- Control over your healthcare future
- Direction, like an internal compass
- Satisfaction, as you get closer to your vision
- Growth, as you continue along your plan and learn more about yourself and the world of healthcare
Your information…your health information
Everyone has a healthcare story in their medical records. Begin keeping your own copies of your medical records by creating a personal health record. You can also request copies of all of your prior medical records from physicians and hospitals where you have been treated. This is your right. You are the owner of your health information. Maintaining your own records has many benefits, including:
- Saving you time, so you don’t have to repeat information for every new healthcare provider.
- Saving you from repeating tests because all of your results are in your records, even if they were performed somewhere else.
- Getting you better care because all of the notes from other doctors and clinicians will be available to your future providers.
Your partners…your healthcare partners
Two heads are better than one, and three heads are better than two. You need partners to get the best results from your healthcare plan. Sure, your doctors are a keystone in your partnership, but don’t forget other, essential partners like: a nutritionist (you are what you eat), counselors, trainers/exercise instructors, healthcare mentors (friends or relatives you designate to help you through the tough times, if you encounter any), and contacts in your health insurance company and hospital.
Planning for family members. In addition to yourself, you can also create a HealthMap™ for your children, parents, and others who are not able or willing to do it for themselves. Doing this activity together can bring you closer and give you, in an uncertain world, some additional sense of security about the future of your loved ones.
Get started now. There is no time like the present. You can get started now by following these basic steps. If you would like some more assistance with this process, you can download HealthMap™ forms now.