When you go to a hospital or large medical practice, there is usually a hierarchy of staff. You’re probably familiar with positions from the office staff who greets you at the door to the doctor who diagnoses and treats patients. But behind the scenes, there’s one physician who is in charge of all of the others. This person is called the Chief Medical Officer or CMO.
The CMO’s job involves a number of responsibilities and may vary from one clinic to another. But the most common description is that the CMO is responsible for managing the other doctors and healthcare providers in the facility.
In the home, more often than not women are stepping up to coordinate and manage healthcare for the family. This is no small task, as any busy mom can tell you. In addition to making and keeping appointments for regular checkups for herself and the kids, the family CMO also has to coordinate with specialists when needed and maintain medical records for each member of the family. Fortunately, there are ways to make this momentous task possible.
3 Ways to Make Family Medical Management Easier
Find a Trusted Primary Care Provider
With all the specialists in the medical field, more and more people are opting to skip the classic patient/doctor relationship of a primary care provider or PCP. After all, when you have doctors to take care of each of your individual health concerns, what’s the need?
Even if you see a number of specialists regularly, it’s a good idea to maintain a strong relationship with a PCP. You want one physician on your team who sees the big picture and is familiar with your family’s health history. He or she should be able to help you manage various specialists and all of your family’s health concerns.
Having one provider you can trust with all of your medical concerns means you have someone to ask those difficult questions. Having a PCP also means you are likely to have better management for chronic diseases, and a better chance of catching major health concerns early.
Get Care Delivered for Urgent Health Issues
For a busy Mom, dragging all of the kids into the urgent care or emergency room every time someone has a fever, needs stitches, or otherwise needs treatment can be rough. Your daily schedule can be completely thrown off by time spent waiting to see a doctor. The waiting room is full of germs and you can bet little ones will have to touch everything. And a sick child is not likely to be the most cooperative patient in unfamiliar surroundings. So what can you do to get healthcare without the hassle?
Wouldn’t it be great if a team of medical professionals would come to your home for treatment? And wouldn’t it be even better if they were able to treat most of what your local emergency handles? Good news! You can get just that with
They’ll send a team of qualified clinicians to care for anyone in the family from the youngest sibling to grandma or grandpa. And they’re equipped to handle illnesses, injuries, even chronic problems like asthma or hypertension. They’ll even send a report to your PCP to keep him or her in the loop! No germy waiting room. No major interruption to your family’s schedule.
Manage Records Digitally
With all of the different doctors and specialists that each member of the family might see, it can be hard to keep track of all their records. You could go the old fashioned route and keep files full of papers. But that’s not the easiest thing to access, especially on the go or while traveling.
Instead, why not digitize the data for ease of access and the ability to share with doctors on the fly. There are a number of services to help you easily store and retrieve all of your data. Look for solutions that prioritize security, and offer features that fit your family. Not sure where to start? Check out Microsoft’s HealthVault or WebMD’s Personal Health Manager.
What data should you keep handy in one place? You’ll want to keep track of the following for each member of the family:
- A list of all current medications, including over the counter supplements
- A list of immunizations
- A copy of your most recent test results
- Time, date, and outcome for all past procedures
- A history of treatment for any chronic medical conditions
Bottom line, it can be a difficult and thankless task to manage your family and their care, but it doesn’t have to be. Take a deep breath, use these helpful tips and know that you’ve got this!
