Don't Let Your Diagnosis of Diabetes Sideline You From Enjoying a Healthy Life!

Your good health is the most important thing that you have. Although your diagnosis of diabetes was likely quite devastating at first, the good news is that there are very specific steps you can take to ensure your health and longevity as much as possible. Countless diabetics are able to live happy and full lives, and if this is also your wish, then it is important to learn the steps you must take to see this wish realized.

The reality is that, although you never asked for a diagnosis of diabetes, you nevertheless are a diabetic, and the lifestyle decisions that you make and the foods you choose to eat have a powerful impact on your health. Your health is your responsibility, and it is largely a consequence of your own actions and decisions.

It is vitally important to make sure that, before making any lifestyle changes based on anything you read or hear (including this article!), you first consult your doctor. Diabetes is a serious disease, and before making any changes or incorporating anything new into your life, always make sure that your doctor gives it the final okay.

You must be your own best advocate! If something is unclear to you, ask about it! It is only natural that you would have questions, and the responsible thing to do is to ask them until the answers are clear to you. So for the sake of your health, commit to understanding anything that seems confusing to you by asking questions.

Make it your mission to learn all you can about diabetes. The more you know, then...the more you know. When it comes to living a happy, healthy life as a diabetic, education is truly the key. The more you know about what can exacerbate symptoms or put you at heightened risk for health related complications, the better informed you will be as you make choices in your daily life.

Try to find a support group for diabetics specifically, or for those with a diagnosis of a chronic disease. Ask your doctor if he or she knows of any, or do a search on the Internet. Talking with other people who are in a situation similar to yours can be of great help.

Keep your entire history of medications, hospital visits, surgeries and procedures, blood sugar readings and charts, insurance information, doctors and caregivers, important contacts, appointment calendar, and so much more in a MedTrakkerPersonal Diabetes Health Record. 

As technology improves each day, and our understanding of treatments for diseases continues to change, it is important that you likewise keep up to date on the most available options for diabetics. Discuss them with your doctor to see if any are right for you.

Although a diagnosis of diabetes can leave many people feeling overwhelmed and at a loss, the more you know about this chronic and lifelong disease, the better equipped you will be to make the choices that will allow you to be healthy and happy as a diabetic. The decisions that you make as well as the lifestyle that you lead will have a tremendous impact on your overall health and prognosis as a diabetic.


The Diabetes MedTrakker can be purchased  online at: http://www.medtrakker.com/

Join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MedTrakker

My Baby Trakker Contents Video

       "My Baby Trakker’ An innovative keepsake journal to keep track of Mommy and Baby’s health. Monitor prenatal and postnatal care, your child’s growth and development stages from Newborn up to 5 years of age.
Available exclusively online at... My Baby Trakker

Store Your Medical Records Safely At Home

Do you find yourself storing your health care records as lose pieces of paper, like quickly jotted down notes for appointments, current/past medications, insurance information, physicians’/hospitals/caregivers’ names & contact information, etc.? Or perhaps, even worse yet, as fading memories in your brain as time marches on?

There is a much simpler, more convenient and organized way to keep all of your information with a MedTrakker Personal Medical Record Keeping Kit. This system offers a fully streamlined and organized way to keep all your information in one place, while providing easy access to all persons involved in your health care, especially in an emergency when you might otherwise not be able to effectively communicate.

The MedTrakker Personal Medical Record Keeping System comes with so many benefits.

• Keep important contact information right at your fingertips for all those involved with your health care, (physicians, caregivers, family, and friends).
• Stay on top of all past and current symptoms, medications, surgeries, and therapies.
• Track all your appointments on your appointment calendar.
• Stay up-to-date on your vital readings with charts.
• Keep all current information about insurance.
• Keep a journal on thoughts, symptoms, diet and activities, questions and answers, and comments you have addressed, or would like to address in the future.

One great extra bonus of a MedTrakker Personal Health Record is its portability. Keep it with you and have your physician/caregiver fill in much, if not all of the information for you during your visits. Another bonus of the MedTrakker is that it provides an extremely effective tool for communication across party lines, & helps you take a responsible, pro-active approach in your health care.

The MedTrakker is a 1” 3-ring binder notebook with two convenient pockets, (one each on the inside front and back covers), which allows the storing of lose papers until such time as you are available to organize it. It also allows you to discard papers you may no longer need.

You may be asking, “Why obtain a MedTrakker Personal Health Record when everyone is going digital (electronic health records) in the industry?” Security and Privacy issues have not been resolved. The MedTrakker(s) are portable and private. Allowing individuals to share their medical history with whom they choose!

MedTrakker medical organizers are an excellent instrument to encourage powerful communication with your entire healthcare team.

   The medical organizers are available exclusively online at: http://www.MedTrakker.com

   Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MedTrakker

Electronic Personal Health Records Raise Public Security Concerns

It's becoming more mainstream over the last few years for the health care industry to keep patients personal health care records electronically. As defined by Wikipedia, "An electronic health record (EHR) (also electronic patient record/computerised patient record/electronic medical record) is an evolving concept defined as a systematic collection of electronic health information about individual patients or populations" (Wikipedia)

While technology has evolved over the years, a concern that has yet to be thoroughly addressed remains elusive. Keeping patients personal identifying information secure has proved to be challenging for the technology industry. 

 The advantages of an Electronic Health Care Record are undoubtedly obvious.

        a.  There is a cost reduction, (no paper/ink being used).
        b.  Medicine based on promotion of evidence
        c.  The ease of access and mobility of the record keeping
        d.  Improving your quality of care (reduction of errors)

While the advantages are obvious, the disadvantages are astonishing and should be weighed carefully.

       a.  Transferring old records may be problematic
       b.  Start Up costs & maintenance of equipment
       c.  Additional staffing and training requirements
       d.  Accessibility to hardware
       e.  Protecting Patients Personal Information
       f.  Sharing/Transferring Patients Medical History Over A Wide Area Network

One extremely important issue brings up another whole host of concerns. That is the security of your Privacy, as mentioned prior in 'ease of access'.  Wikipedia and the Wall Street Journal addressing Privacy and Security concerns:

1. "The privacy of electronic records is supposed to be protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountabilty Act of 1996, but there are obvious and gaping problem.  Frequently raised concerns include nosy clerks especially at satellite institutions like pharmacies, unauthorized remote intrusion, court orders, and a lack of action by regulators who take complaints. Mostly overlooked is the fact that software owners like Microsoft will have unfettered access to any medical record that any Windows system has access to. Google recently proved that Microsoft was spying on ordinary users, so the threat is no longer a theoretical matter of the company exercising the broad rights to snoop they gave themselves in their EULAs a decade ago with or without your permission." (Wikipedia)

 2.  HIPAA has special restrictions on psychotherapy records, but Psychotherapy records can also be disclosed without the client's knowledge or permission, according to the Journal. For example, Patricia Galvin, a lawyer in San Francisco, saw a psychologist at Stanford Hospital & Clinics after her  fiancé committed suicide. Her therapist had assured her that her records would be confidential. But after she applied for disability benefits, Stanford gave the insurer her therapy notes, and the insurer denied her benefits based on what Galvin claims were a misinterpretation of the notes. Stanford had merged her notes with her general medical record, and the general medical record wasn't covered by HIPAA restrictions. (Wikipedia)

As of 2007, the Government Accountability Office reports that there is a "jumble of studies and vague policy statements but no overall strategy to ensure that privacy protections would be built into computer networks linking insurers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers."

You can read the entire article here: Electronic health record - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Having peace of mind knowing that the security of your personal health information stays private, and it is of utmost concern. Until the Government implements strategic rules and passes laws on these Privacy and Security issues, there is no guarantee that storing your  health records electronically can be secure.

There is a convenient, easier way to store all of your personal health records while maintaining your privacy. It's affordable, private and portable; making it extremely easy in an emergencyto convey the information needed to those providing you careif you cannot effectively communicate. Keep your entire history of medications, hospital visits, surgeries and procedures, blood counts and charts, insurance information, doctors and caregivers, important contacts, appointment calendar, and so much more in a MedTrakker Personal Health Record. Patients no longer have to worry about keeping appointment cards, pieces of paper that get mis-placed, or fading memories of your personal health care.

Store loose papers in your MedTrakker with its convenient pockets until you're ready to file them. Get your physicians/caregivers to fill in your information for you. As time goes on, you can discard what is no longer needed. It's a great way to stay organized, while keeping everyone involved in your health care up-to-date. MedTrakker medical organizers are an excellent instrument to encourage powerful communication with your entire healthcare team.

   The medical organizers are available exclusively online at: http://www.medtrakker.com/
Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/MedTrakker