Just like that, while it can feel like the fingerpaint is still wet from a masterpiece from kindergarten, somehow, some way, your child is getting ready to graduate from high school or college.

What?

There are the things we typically think about when it comes to a looming graduation season. Did the cap and gown get ordered? Will your child head straight into a job, trade school, or advanced academics? What will the economic landscape look like for them? What lessons have you learned in your own life after your graduation a couple of decades ago that you want to share with them?

It’s a season of change, of goodbyes, of hellos, and also of releasing and launching someone you’ve put all kinds of love and heart into raising.

🩺 In all of that prep, there is one area that can be overlooked. And that’s in the arena of equipping your child with their own medical history, so that they can now be responsible for stewarding and caring for their health.

It’s a frequent topic of memes, young adults in their twenties and early thirties, laughing at themselves about needing to call their moms from a doctor’s office waiting room to get info on vaccination records, allergies, and most recent dental cleaning. And while it certainly inspires some chuckles, it also shows how common it is for young adults to head into the years following graduation from high school or college with very little information on their health history.

Zachary Bittenger, MD, highlights the importance of young people knowing their personal medical history. He explains, “As young adults transition to more independence, it’s imperative that they understand their personal and family medical histories. Keeping records is the core of this – whether digital or paper, make sure to have easy access to your diagnoses, surgeries and the significant conditions that run in your family. And especially for those young adults that are moving away, talk with your current medical team about a Release of Information Form. This allows for specific teams to communicate and share records with your permission. These steps will form excellent habits in the future, as additional moves and new medical teams will all follow similar steps in understanding your history and needs.” 1 

There’s another thing to consider here as well, even if you prefer to be the parent holding all the records. HIPAA privacy laws (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) mean that, once your child turns eighteen, you no longer will have automatic access to their records. This means that it is important for your graduate to have a basic understanding of their own health history, whether they’re headed to a university setting, traveling, or embarking on a new job. Social worker LaDonna Morales, MSW, LISW-S, has developed a great list of questions that your graduate needs to be able to answer about their own health: 

  • What are your medical conditions? Do you have any allergies?
  • Who are your doctors, why do see them, and do you know how to contact them and schedule appointments?
  • Who should you call in a medical emergency?
  • Do you have any dietary or medical restrictions?
  • What medications are you taking, and are there any interactions you should be aware of?
  • Do you know how to fill a prescription?
  • What should you do if you have a bad reaction to a medication?
  • Do you know your family’s health history? 2 

Take a little time this grad season to pull together a few items so that your graduate has a comprehensive snapshot of their health history. If you want to keep original copies in a firesafe, you can make copies for your graduate to keep in a file in their dorm room or new apartment. You can also upload records to a secure online file that is accessible to your graduate. 

Check out the following items to include in building your graduate’s medical file:

📂 Graduation Medical File 

  1. 🍼 Well-baby check ups, with stats on growth, height, and weight
  2. đź’‰ Immunization records. This typically will include the dates of vaccination for the following list:
  • Tdap booster
  • MMR
  • Varicella (chickenpox)
  • Hepatitis A and B
  • HPV (if received)
  • Meningococcal vaccines (often required for dorm living)
  • COVID vaccination record 
  1. 🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Inventory of family health traits, including family link to parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, who may have issues with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, cognitive differences, Alzheimer’s, lupus, other autoimmune issues, etc.
  2. 💊 Current medication list. If you’ve been the keeper of all things Rx, this is a great time to make sure your graduate has access to the list of medications they are currently on, the dosage and frequency, and what the medication is for.
  3. 🤧 Allergy records. Be sure to include any allergy testing, results of those tests, and any reactions that have required emergency medical intervention. If your graduate is allergic to penicillin, it’s important to highlight this for your graduate. If they use an inhaler or need to carry an EpiPen, be sure to include that information as well.
  4. 🗓️ Concise summary of past medical events. Broken bones, hospitalizations, surgeries, ER visits, mental health information, and injuries, along with the dates of these events, should be included.
  5. 🦷 Dental health overview. Orthodontia treatments, wisdom teeth removal, and the date of your graduate’s last dental cleaning are helpful to have on the list.
  6. List of healthcare providers, including phone numbers and specialties:
  • Current primary care physician
  • Pediatrician
  • Dentist
  • Orthodontist 
  • Other specialists
  • Counselor/Therapist
  • Pharmacy
  1. đź‘“ Vision records, including current prescription for glasses and contact lenses, optometrist
  2. 📋 HIPAA Release Form: if you and your graduate agree that they want you to have continued access to their medical records and for doctors to be able to share with you a medical condition or treatment for an injury that arises, you’ll want to sign, with your graduate, a HIPAA release form. While HIPAA law is a federal law, the actual release forms and their permissions vary state to state. Be sure to download a form specific to where your graduate is going to be living.

Medical Costs:

Your graduate also needs the information about how your family pays for medical services. If you’re a Member of Altrua HealthShare, and your graduate is still under the age of twenty-three, they can download the HealthWallet app to help manage their health care and submit medical needs. When your graduate turns twenty-three, they’ll sign up for their own Altrua HealthShare membership, which offers flexibility, affordability, and is customizable to their season of life and budget. If you’re not yet a Member of Altrua HealthShare or have questions about your membership, contact a Member Services Representative at 1-888-244-3839. 

As you’re launching your graduate into their next chapter, make sure a simple health information record is easily accessible for them. You’ve poured so many good things into your graduate, wisdom, insights, education, and goals. Make sure that responsibility for lifelong health and the records they need to help support their health journey are a key part of what they take into their next season.

 

1  https://health.osu.edu/health/family-health/teen-health-to-adult-care#:~:text=As%20young%20adults%20transition%20to,share%20records%20with%20your%20permission.
2  https://blog.cincinnatichildrens.org/healthy-living/is-your-teen-or-young-adult-prepared-to-manage-his-own-healthcare/