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No one is ever ready to see a loved one get acutely ill. Even though my Dad has had medically managed Parkinson’s Disease for over 12 years, when he fell and hit his head, our family was not prepared to manage the details of his care.
Some people on social media platforms would call me an “Elder Millennial.” I experienced an analog childhood, the internet boom in my formative years in college, with a completely digital adult experience. My generation transitioned from hand-written vaccination records to digitally tracking COVID tests through mobile apps.
As the Baby Boomers age into requiring more advanced care, Millennials will need to grapple with the notion of caring for our parents and look for tools that we use today. As the Director of Customer Success for 1upHealth, I was familiar with gaining access to digital medical records using APIs and leaned on the technology in a time of crisis.
While Dad was in the hospital, I found my out-of-state brothers calling regularly to get updates. While trying to get all the information collected, my older brother – who is a Gen Z – printed out a binder of Dad’s reports, whereas I leaned into one of my strengths: Technology.
Within a few minutes of using Primary Record, and with Dad’s permission, I connected to his medical and Medicare portals and pulled clinical and claims data into one aggregated digital record. Securely sharing information with my out-of-state brothers and having up-to-date data was key to helping us stay informed and plan for Dad’s care at home.
The end of this story is good. Dad got better and we were able to mobilize his care to be delivered in the comfort of his home. My brothers and I can use our valuable time to discuss plans for the future like making Parkinson’s adaptations to the house to improve accessibility instead of talking about lab results and vital signs.
API access is a tool that my generation will lean on to share and distribute data. It takes a village to care for a loved one, and we all need to stay informed. And it’s interoperability that empowers us to stay informed.
