Thursday, December 03, 2009

Organizing Medical Paperwork

Today one of my children went to the dentist for the first time. Thanks to Dr. Rice, Mickey, Kathy and Pam for making it such a wonderful experience for both of us!



Along with a visit to the dentist or doctor comes paperwork and sometimes lots of it! Here's what I do to organize the medical paperwork for my family:



1) Each family member has a three ring binder with their name on the spine. Mine is titled "Carolyn Health Care" and is stored alongside my husband's and children's binders.


2) We are basically healthy so one binder is sufficient for our medical, dental and vision records. I like to use Avery's write-on dividers that can be erased and reused, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Here are a couple of photos of my child's binder.


If you visit multiple doctor's or have a lot of medical paperwork, you might need several divider tabs or a binder for each doctor.


3) I organize the papers in reverse chronological order according to the date of the office visit with the dates highlighted in yellow. Sometimes the insurance companies will send explanation of benefit (EOB) paperwork with several visits on one sheet. In that case, I just take a copy or make a note of the coverage on the medical provider's paperwork.